Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists
by YuZuKi-sama969
Summary: The Exorcists are sent to Hogwarts without knowing what Hogwarts is and what they are supposed to do there. Meanwhile, the Millenium Earl and Voldemort have joined hands in their plot to destroy the world. AN: Penname changed used to be Kagine324
1. Prologue

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

One: The Ministry of Magic and the Black Order

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

_Exorcism was known as an ancient art of magic, lost in the flow of time. A magic that was washed away during The Flood, what was lost along with the end of the war between Exorcists and the Akuma. At least, that's what people said. It wasn't neccessarily true..._

"Are ye gonna sleep forever down there?"

The gruff voice broke through the silence of Allen Walker's slumber, and the silver haired boy opened his eyes and looked up into the bright orange light of the lantern hanging above his head. In a slurred voice, he mumbled, "What?"

The giant man towered over him, being about twice as tall as the average man as well as three times as wide. He had a wild bush of frizzy dark hair around his face as well as a long beard. His beady eyes peered at him with a friendly gleam as he held out a hand the size of Allen's face and said, "There ye are. Yer finally awake. We're here." His other hand skillfully used an oar to stop the small boat from crashing into the rocky shore.

Allen took the man's hand and allowed him to help him ashore. Glancing around with his wide, gray eyes, Allen noticed a small group of people standing off to the side. "Ah, you all came before me?" he said to them, smiling.

A Chinese girl with long flowing black hair nodded with a cheerful smile. "Just ten minutes ago," she replied. "Kanda was too impatient to wait for Mr. Hagrid," she added.

"Aye, just call me Hagrid," said the large man as he tied the rope to the wooden dock. He grabbed the lantern off its stick and motioned to the stone staircase leading up. "Sorting ceremony's about to start, so we'd better hurry. Yer luggage'll be carried up, so no need ter worry 'bout that. Follow me."

Allen and the girl, followed by the rest of the group, fell into step behind Hagrid as he led them up the staircase. "So Lenalee," Allen whispered. _"Why_ were we sent up here again?"

The girl, Lenalee Lee, shrugged back and looked one of the people behind them, a tall man with a white coat and matching hat, his wise looking (?) brown eyes hidden by a stylish pair of glasses. "Brother, care to answer?"

The man, apparently Lenalee's brother, was Komui Lee. He fingered the cross on his jacket- the emblem that symbolized membership of the Black Order- and said softly, "I do not know much either. After this...sorting ceremony is over, the headmaster of the school will summon us to his office. There, he will explain everything. At least, that's what he said to the Finder."

"Cheh," tsked a long haired Japanese, folding his arms and glaring at everything he could land his eyes on, especially Allen in particular, who glared back occasionally when the gaze stayed on him for over a second.

"Kanda- could you _please _stop looking at me?" he hissed.

Watching the two, Lenalee and Komui sighed inwardly. Hagrid's looming shadow came to a stop at the top of the staircase.

"We're here, folks," he grunted, pointing down a short corridor at another flight of stairs, although this one was brightly lit by a warm light that didn't reach into the corridor. "Now the first years are up at the top of them stairs, so we'll wait till they go in. After that, we'll follow and you kids'll be sorted into one of the houses. And be aware, there's a chance ye might be separated from yer friends, or put into the same group as yer enemy."

Allen and Kanda glanced at each other at that, and Lenalee looked at the rest of the group. There were four boys including Komui, and a girl, who, along with one of the boys, looked significantly older than the other, although they weren't actually that old. They were, especially the girl, Miranda Lotto, watching the other two boys with worried looks.

Hagrid mustn't have noticed the tension (or the sizzling irritation passing between Allen and Kanda), for he cheerfully turned to the smaller people and said, "They're goin' in. C'mon, you lot."

The giant man led the group up the stairs and to a pair of closed heavy-looking doors, which he opened without effort. He, with his booming voice, annouced to the sea of people inside the room, "I have brought in our guests of honor, Professor Dumbledore, sir!" 

All fell silent inside the room as Harid turned to the confused group and nodded at them. "Go on in, all of ye. I'll follow, and you just stand at the back of that group down there. Don't be scared. Them kids won't bite ye." He winked and pushed Allen's back.

Allen glanced at Lenalee. "Let's go, wherever to," he whispered, sounding braver than he felt. He looked up into the room, at the people (who seemed to be dressed all in black) and took a step inside. Behind him, he heard Kanda tsk once again; Miranda sigh dramatically; and the rest, Arystar Krory, Lavi, and Komui, shuffled before following him. As far as he knew, the only who followed him with any confidence was Lenalee.

The group Hagrid mentioned was a large group of children. They were all huddled together, looking threatened by others who were sitting at the surrounding long tables. Beyond the crowd was another table, at which sat wise looking adults with beautiful robes. In the center was an elderly man, who looked to be trying his hardest at ignoring the frog-like woman sitting beside him. Allen couldn't blame him; the woman had a sneeky, mean and annoying look about her that made him irritated at her without even knowing who she was. Between the table and the crowd was a strict looking woman with her hair in a tight bun and a tall witches' hat (Allen could only wonder why she wore such a hat!) She stood silently with her mouth in a thin line, a scroll of paper held tightly in her wrinkle hands. She stared hard at the sea of children before her, and nervously, they ceased in their fidgeting and stood still.

The woman coughed. "When I call your name," she said in a voice that sounded only a bit like a sniff, "you will please come up and sit on the stool," she motioned to a stool that Allen hadn't noticed until then; on it was a withered hat that looked a lot like junk, "and I will place the Sorting Hat atop your head. The hat will then sort you into your houses...There are four houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin."

Allen felt something tug on his sleeve, and he turned his head slightly to look into the one visible green eye of his friend, red-headed Lavi. "What?" Allen whispered.

"What's a Sorting Hat?" Lavi asked.

Allen blanched. "How am _I _supposed to know? You're the junior Bookman," he responded.

The teacher with the stern glare had already began calling out names. Allen listened as the old hat spoke (Allen was quite freaked by that.) A Michelle Alderson was sorted into Ravenclaw, a Daniel Creens into Hufflepuff, a tiny boy named Lana Hoots was sorted into Gryffindor, and a snide looking girl named Angelica Ratcliffet was sorted into Slytherin. About ten minutes passed, and Allen, Lenalee, Lavi, Kanda, Krory, Miranda, and Komui were the only ones left. All of them tried not to squirm; everyone's eyes were on them.

The old man at the table stood up slowly, and soon all the eyes switched their gazes to him. He was tall, with long snow white hair and a matching beard with half moon spectacles that threatened to slide down his long crooked nose. He wore a bright purple robe that shimmered in the candlelight (the candles, Allen noted, were floating in midair, and the ceiling above looked like the heavens beyond). He held up his hands to ask for silence, although it was quite unneccesary. The whole room was deathly silent. Allen bit his lip, wondering what would happen next.

"Welcome," the man said in a calm, strong voice. "Students, I hope you will all will warmly welcome our guests into our hospitality. To our guests, my name is Albus Dumbledore and I am the headmaster of this school. I am somewhat friends with Mr. Komui Lee, so I will have him bring you all to my office later. Dear Professor McGonagall here will call up your names and sort you into your houses. Now, your houses will be like...your home while you stay here. I hope you will fit in with everyone here, and of course, you will be attending classes with your fellow students."

Allen heard Lavi groan, and Kanda tsked once more. Allen stared into the old man, wanting to ask a thousand questions.  
Why did he make Komui bring all the Exorcists here? Here of all places when the world was slowly being destroyed by the Millenium Earl and his Akuma? There was a world to save, for God's _sake_!

But this was no time for questions. The woman, Professor McGonagall, was unscrolling another, shorter roll of parchment paper and studying the words witten there. "Lavi, it says here. No surname, I see. Come up here."

Lavi gave his friends a slightly scared look before gulping and walking up to the stool where he sat down. Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat atop his head, and the hat twisted and turned as it peered down at Lavi.

"You're a pretty intelligent mind, I see. Good memory...and a knowledge of the darkness in this world. More courage, much more than any child, even more than Harry Potter!" it said. The students at the tables gasped for a reason Allen couldn't guess. "You do have some impurity in you. Oh, yes. You could be a troublemaker. You should be placed in...GRYFFINDOR!"

The table right beside Miranda burst into cheers, making the woman cower in shock and fear. Lavi, once the hat was taken off his head, jumped down and walked cautiously over to the table, where a bunch of redheads dragged him down into a seat and patted his back. McGonagall, promptly ignoring the cheering, called out Kanda's name.

The Japanese Exorcist literally stomped to the stool and sat down, scowling. Allen felt like laughing at his quite immature irritation, but decided against it. The hat babbled about Kanda's intelligence and courage, and in the end, yelled out, "RAVENCLAW!"

One by one, the Exorcists were all sorted into each of the houses. Krory and Miranda into Hufflepuff; Komui following Kanda into Ravenclaw; Lenalee into Gryffindor with Lavi. Allen looked down at the Slytherin table and at the greasy faces of its occupants. He shivered, he did not want to go in there alone.

"Allen Walker," called McGonagall's clipped voice.

_That's me,_ Allen thought. He looked at the other Exorcists, all looking back intently, then back into the calm looks of the teachers. He took a deep breathe, sighed, and walked up to the stool.

The Sorting Hat studied his face, glaring especially intently at his cursed eye. "You're an interesting one, yes, you are," it said.


	2. The Ministry of Magic and the Black Orde

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

One: The Ministry of Magic and the Black Order

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

Allen watched the worn out hat intently as he made his way towards the stool. It was ripped, stained, and downright just old. The woman holding it up, Professor McGonagall, stared down her nose at him with slight disapprovement (of what, why?) and curiosity. With her gaze, she told him to hurry up and sit. 

Allen did, and she placed the oversized hat atop his head. It almost covered his eyes, it being so big.

There was a moment of silence, broken only by the soft whispering of the other students. And then, the hat moved abruptly. In a barely audible voice, he said, "Aha...you're cursed too, eh?" and everyone gasped. "And I see you're not _too _bothered by it either, surprisingly. In you I see...great courage and honesty. You've seen many hardships, I see. But oh, what's this?" He paused. Then spoke again. "You have a dark side. Not that it will, in any way, endanger anyone, it being so...insignificant. Right, right..."

Allen felt his hands shaking and gripped them tight. He realized he was scared. He was familiar with humans-turned-machines and the dead wearing their beloved's skin; he'd even seen floating candles while fighting a Noah. But _talking hat's_? Nu-uh.

The Sorting Hat stopped talking and sat still on Allen's ruffled mess of white hair. Allen, at that point, probably experienced the longest moment of his life before the hat yelled out a house name. To the young Exorcist's relief, it was Gryffindor.

"I _knew_ you'd come here, Allen!" Lavi cheered as his best friend sat down between him and Lenalee.

"Thanks, Lavi," Allen said, grinning. Lavi smiled back and turned to the two red haired boys sitting next to him. They were twins, Allen noted. "Who're they?"

The twins, hearing the question, leaned over and held out their hands. "I'm Fred-" one said.

"-And George. Weasley," the other cut in

"Nice to meet you, Allen Walker," they said in unison

"They're the trouble makers of the school," a girl sitting across from Lavi sighed playfully, tugging at her bushy brown hair and giving a gentle smile. "I'm Hermione Granger. Pleased to meet you."

"Hello," Allen said to the three, shaking the twins' hands and smiling at Hermione. From the corner of his eye, he saw a third redhead glare at him, then at Hermione.

Lenalee leaned over. "There are so many red haired people here," she observed.

"What's that, Miss?" Fred piped up.

"You say there are many red haired people?" George asked.

"What? No- I mean-"

"No big, Lenalee," Lavi said, waving his hand. "They don't mind."

"Who's that boy over there, Hermione?" Allen asked the girl, pointing to the one who had glared at him earlier.

"Do you mean Harry?" said Hermione. "That's Harry Potter. Don't you know him?"

"Um, maybe..."Allen muttered. He glanced over at the boy again, who was talking to a black haired boy with glasses. Allen guessed that he was Harry Potter, and decided to ask the redheaded boy's name later, for apparently, he and Hermione were talking about different people. Maybe the black haired boy was a common topic of conversation...?

A ringing sound cut through the chatter, and all of the students quieted down. Allen looked up and saw Albus Dumbledore was standing up again; all eyes were on him, even the one of the froggy woman. Seeing her 'pleasant' smile, Allen felt irritation once more. _She'd get along well with Kanda, maybe,_ he thought bitterly, although part of him highly doubted the possibility of that. Kanda never got along with anyone...

Dumbledore sweeped the room slowly with his bright blue eyes. "To our newcomers," he said, his arms stretched wide as if to embrace everything and everyone, "welcome! To our old hands- welcome back! There is a time for speech making, but this is not it. Tuck in!"

Everyone laughed heartily yet politely at those words and applauded as Dumbledore seated himself once more. Allen looked down at his plate in wonder, asking himself why the headmaster had told everyone to tuck in when there was no food- when _pop! _Magically, piles and piles of delicious looking food materialized on the table. From down the table, Allen heard someone groan, "Excellent," before he himself grabbed the nearest chicken leg (a big one at that) and bit off a large portion of it.

"Allen, Allen," he heard Lenalee whisper. "There's a _ghost_!"

Nearly spitting out his food (a waste that would've been if he had), Allen looked up and at the nearly see-through body of a man, who was looking forlornly at the red haired boy that had glared at Allen. The boy, he saw, was eating the food greedily.

"I don't see anything strange anymore about ghosts, Lenalee," Allen whispered back, sighing slightly. "I've seen too much already, nothing surprises me anymore."

Hermione was trying to ask the ghost a question. Begrudging himself for being nosy, yet too curious not to eavesdrop, Allen listened in on the conversation. "What were you asying before the sorting? the bushy haired girl asked. "About the hat giving warnings?"

"Oh yes," said the ghost, looking rather happy. He turned away from the boy, who was eating potatoes at a sickening speed. (Not that Allen had any right to be disgusted by him, for he too was devouring his food with an almost equally indecent enthusiasm.) "Yes, I have heard the hat give several warnings before, always at times when it detects periods of great danger for the school. And always, of course, its advice is the same: Stand together, be strong from within."

"Ow kunit node skusin danger ifzat?"

Lenalee, Allen, and Lavi's heads snapped up at the almost unhuman voice. Following Hermione's and the ghost's gaze, Allen saw that it was the red haired boy, and that his face was stuffed with food. Relieved that the voice hadn't belonged to an alien, Allen and Lenalee laughed a little, and Lavi went back to talking to Fred and George.

"I beg your pardon? said the ghost politely, although Hermione looked quite shocked. The boy swallowed hard and repeated his question, "How can it know if the school's in danger if it's a hat?"

"I have no idea. Of course, it lives in Dumbledore's office, so I daresay it picks things up from there," answered the ghost.

_A warning, only given before something bad happens, _Allen thought suspiciously, and made a mental note to tell Komui about it later.

Harry looked over at the Slytherin table, the only one where no Exorcist had been sorted into. "And it wants all the houses to be friends?" he said, as if that was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever head. "Fat chance." Allen guessed it must be, for both Hermione and the other boy looked as if to be in agreement.

"Well, now, you shouldn't take that attitude. Peaceful cooperation, that's the key. We ghotst, though we belong to separate houses, maintain links of friendship. In spite of the competitiveness between Gryffindor and Slytherin, I would never dream of seeking an argument with the Bloody Baron," said the ghost good-naturedly.

"Only becuse you're terrified of him."

"Terrified? I hope I, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, have never been guilty of cowerdice in my life," the ghost, who Allen now knew as Sir Nicholas, sniffed heatedly. "The noble blood that runs in my veins-"

"What blood? Surely you haven't still got-?" the boy interrupted.

"It's a figure of speech!" Sir Nicholas snapped. The Exorcists swore his head wobbled on his shoulders. "I assume I am still allowed to enjoy the use of whichever words I like, even if the pleasures of eating and drinking are denied me! But I am quite used to students poking fun at my death, I assure you!"

Hermione threw the boy an angry glare and said to the fuming ghost, "Nick, he wasn't really laughing at you!"

"Node iddum eentup sechew," said the boy, his mouth, once again, filled to bursting point.

Sir Nicholas, looking, if possible, angrier than before, swept away from his seat beside Hermione and floated into the space between two tiny boys.

"Well done, Ron," Allen heard Hermione say to the boy.

"What?" said the boy, Ron. "I'm not allowed to ask a simple question?"

"Oh, forget it," said Hermione. She turned to Allen, who'd completely forgotten how he was eavesdropping and was now staring at the space Sir Nicholas used to be. "I'm sorry Allen, Lenalee. It's your first day here and you had to see a fight. Ron could be insensitive sometimes, and.."

"Oh, it's alright," Lenalee reassured nervously. Allen glanced in Ron's direction and saw him glaring at Hermione (with jealousy?) and Harry eating steadily through his food. Apparently, he was used to Ron's and Hermione's bickering.

Several minutes passed in silence between the threesome and the Exorcists. Allen gulped down as much food as possible, sometimes earning revolted glances from Lenalee and amused ones from Lavi and the twins. Hermione kept looking at him, and when their eyes occasionally met, she would quickly look the other way, a hint of a blush on her face, and Ron would send death glares at Allen. Soon enough, though, the food disappeared, and Dumbledore stood up at his seat.

"Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I get a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices," he said. "First years (and our new guests) ought to know that the forest in the grounds is out of bounds to students-and a few of our older students ought to know that by now too." At that, Allen saw Hermione exchange smirks with her two friends. Dumbledore continued in his clear, strong voice. "Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four hundred and sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr. Filch's office door.

"We have two changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubby-plank, who will be taking care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." The students applauded fairly politely, but Hermione, Ron, and Harry looked at each other with stricken expressions. "Tryouts for the House Quidditch teams will take place on the-"

Allen looked at Dumbledore in question when he abruptly stopped talking, and Dumbledore was looking inquiringly at the frog-woman, Professor Umbridge. She was just sitting there, wasn't she?

"_Hem hem_," said the professor, and Allen felt a bit of understanding when he processed, in his mind, that this woman was probably not much taller standing than she was sitting, and that she _was _currently standing and intended on making a speech. Dumbledore looked surprised for a moment before he sat down and looked expectantly at Umbridge, although some othe teachers, especially McGonagall, looked offended as well as shocked; many students, Allen saw, were smirking. Umbridge took no notice of anyone else's discomfort and simpered, "Thank you, Headmaster, for those kind words of welcome." Allen felt another sear of irritation buzz through his system, and thought that maybe this was how Kanda felt towards him, as undeserving Allen was of that treatment.

Not that Umbridge deserved to be hated, either.

The woman in question coughed and cleared her throat once more. "_Hem hem_...Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say!" she announced cheerfully. "And to see such happy faces looking back at me!"

Allen doubted that. He could see other people looking around, trying to search for at least one happy face. Umbridge must be daydreaming or something, he thought, for every face, old or new, looked quite appaled at being treated like a toddler. Allen imagined how Krory and Miranda must be feeling.

"I thought that Komurin...whatever number it was...was scary," Lavi whispered into Allen's ear, "but this lady is scarier. I hope we'll get to go home soon. There were so many things here I didn't know about. Imagine! Stuff _I_ don't recognize!"

"I don't," Allen said, chuckling, wiping fake tears. "I don't want to look for Master anymore." Despite his unreasonably disliking of Professor Umbridge, he didn't think anything could be worse than his evil master, Cross Marian.

"Allen! What about the world?" Lavi said in a hurry. "Well, I guess we've at least got another century before it gets destroyed looking as this place looks darn safe, but still!"

"Shh!" Lenalee hissed.

Umbridge was still speaking in her girly, high pitched voice. "...the rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the Wizarding community must be passed down through the generation lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by out ancestors must be guarded, replenished, and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching."

Allen suppresed a yawn and watched in a daze as Umbridge bowed slightly to the staff and continued with her speech. "_Hem hem. _Every headmaster and headmistress..."

"This is very boring. And I thought Bookman was boring," Lavi muttered.

"Let's put Dungbombs in her office tomorrow morning," one of the twins said. "That'll serve her right for putting us to sleep early."

"What're Dungbombs?" Lavi asked.

Allen spent the rest of the speech, half listening to Umbridge and half listening to Lavi, Fred, and George. It was almost five minutes later that Umbridge finally sat down, and Dumbledore began clapping. Several people, either out of a feeling of neccesity or just wanting to clap, followed his lead. A few awkward looking students clapped once or twice, and people who hadn't realized the end of the video had barely began clapping before the headmaster stood up again.

"Thank you very much, Professor Umbridge," he said, "that was most illuminating." He bowed to her. "Now, as I was saying, Quidditch tryouts will be held..."

Allen's tired ears perked up at Hermione's voice. "Yes, it certainly was illuminating," she said under her breath. Allen hoped he wasn't being serious, and apparently, so did Ron.

"You're not telling me you enjoyed it?" he said, faking a horrified face. "That was about the dullest speech I've ever heard, and I grew up with Percy."

"I said illuminating, not enjoyable. It explained a lot."

"Did it?" Harry and Allen asked at the same time. "Sounded like a load of waffle to me," Harry said.

"There was some important stuff hidden in the waffle," Hermione said, and Lenalee nodded. _All hail the nerds,_ Allen thought grimly.

"Well, I'm new in this world so I only know that it's important, but I won't say that was just pointlessly boring," Lenalee winked at Allen.

"Is wasn't?" said Ron and Lavi, gawking at the girls.

"How about 'progress for progress's sake must be discouraged'?" Lenalee quoted. "How about 'pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited'?"

Ron looked impatient, although Lavi looked to have understood the point. "Well, what does that mean?"

"I'll tell you what it means," Hermione grumbled, gritting her teeth and glaring angrily. "It means the Ministry's interfering at Hogwarts."

Ron and Harry's mouths fell open, and they looked as if they wanted to ask more, but all at once, there was a great uproar of banging and clattering around them. Dumbledore had just dismissed the school, obviously; everyone was standing up ready to leave the dining hall. Hermione jumped up, looking embarrassed, hurried, and grabbed Ron's collar. "Ron, we're supposed to show the first years where to go!"

"Oh yead. Hey-hey you lot! Midgets!"

"_Ron_!"

"Well, they are, they're titchy..."

Hermione looked at the group of lost looking Gryffindor first years mingling not too far but not too near the large doors. "I know, but you can't call them midgets...First years!" she called. "This way, please!"

Allen and Lenalee watched as Hermione and Ron wrestled their way through the crowd towards the small children. "So, uh...do you want to follow them?" Lenalee asked uncertainly.

Allen looked at how tiny the first years were. "No...I don't think so," he replied. "Where's Lavi?"

"He went to the rest of your group," answered a tired voice. "Come on, I'll lead you to the Gryffindor common room."

Harry Potter stumbled up to the two Exorcists, rubbing his eyes. "I can't _believe_ I used to be so tiny- or so fidgety. Look at those first years!" he mumbled. "Here, come on. Follow me."

"Wait- no! I mean, it's okay. We have to meet up with our friends. We're, um, summoned to Dumbledore's room," Allen said hastily. "We'll meet up with you later."

"Oh," Harry said. He smiled a little. "Okay. See you later." He then disappeared out of the room.

"Now, as to finding Lavi and the others," Lenalee groaned, skimming the room once. "It's going to take a long long time."

"Absolutely," Allen agreed. "I take it we're probably not allowed to jump up and down," he said, thinking of Lenalee's boots.

"Nope." Both Exorcists sighed.

* * *

Heyys readers! I thank you all for reading that first chapter. It's great, because the first one I wrote here only got 6 reviews total, and it had like 21 chapters before I gave up (yes, I did, hate me for it), and this one got 10 for the first chapter! Now I'm not going to be a pain and do one of those "I won't post till I get so and so reviews" so no worries on that! I just hope you enjoy this story, and that I finish it! 

Author,

Kagine324


	3. The Forbidden Art of Exorcism

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Three: The Forbidden Art of Exorcism

* * *

**Disclaimers: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

"Ah, there you guys are!" Lavi said, waving as Lenalee dragged a disgruntled Allen through the crowd. "We've been waiting for you." 

"Why, thank you. We've been deserted in an unfamiliar crowd, and we've been looking desperately for you," Lenalee replied, the faint sign of a popping vein visible from underneath her messed up hair. She smiled, but Allen, standing beside her, felt the chilly anger vibrating off her in waves. He shivered.

"Lenalee!" Komui exclaimed, latching on to his sister's arm. "Where were you? Are you okay?"

"Are you Komui Lee?" asked an oily voice from behind Allen. The young Exorcist whipped around in surprise- how had this man snuck up on him?

"Why, yes," answered the tall supervisor of the Black Order, straightening himself up and fiddling with his coat. "I am Lee."

All of the Exorcists took in the appearance of the inquirer, a man with greasy, slightly long black hair, dark eyes, and a pronounced frown. The man stared down at them with a suspicious glare in his eyes and turned back to Komui. "My name is Professor Snape. Professor Dumbledore has told me to escort you all to his office. Please," he said curtly, "follow me."

The trip through the big, strange castle was long. Snape walked in silence for a while, but after a few minutes, he spoke in his deep voice. "It is a pity none of our guests were sorte into Slytherin," he said."You would have been in good hands if you'd had. But, alas, you cannot go up against the Sorting hat and win the argument. He is, after all, Godric Gryffindor's hat."

"You said you were a professor," Allen said. "What do you teach?"

Snape looked long and hard at Allen before he turned away and sniffed. He picked up his speed, but it was hardly noticeable. "Potions. The divine art that does not require students taking out their silly wands and performing incantations."

Lavi nudged Allen's back, and the white haired boy slowed down to fall into step next to him. "What?" Allen asked.

"I've read about this place before in panda-man's books once," said the junior Bookman. "This is one of the most oldest places in Britian, and it's one of the greatest magical institutes in the world." Bookmen, like Lavi's master (who had no name), were people who gathered information, some of which were extremely confidential, and kept the knowledge. When one retires, a Bookman would have passed down his knowledge to his apprentice, and many of the information would be stored in file after file of history. All Bookmen, including Lavi, have a superior memory and could memorize ever stain on an object.

"And?" Allen asked.

"They used to teach something similar to our exorcing of Akumas," Lavi whispered. "It's weird; they used spells to kill off the evil spirits of sadness that sometimes plagued the magical world, and sometimes there were people who were either born with a talent to do that, or people who became especially good after they found this crystal-like object. But this magic became banned from this world several centuries ago."

"Crystal-like objects," Allen repeated. "Do they mean the Innocence?"

"Maybe."

"We are here," Snape's voice cut through their conversation like hard ice. Allen and Lavi looked up and saw that they were all standing in front of a stone gargoyle of a large bird. The frowning professor muttered the name of a western candy (Allen had tried them before) and the gargoyle began to rotate. Lenalee gasped immediately; the gargoyle was rising upwards, and a twisting staircase appeared from the floor. "Professor Dumbledore is in the office above. I was not permitted to enter with you, so I wil leave you here. Good night." With that, he spun on his heels and stalked down the corridor.

"Well, let's a go!" Lavi said, sounding forcefully cheerful, and he jumped onto the roating stairs. Allen and Lenalee followed his lead, and quickly trailing after them were Komui, Krory, and Miranda.

"Good evening," greeted Dumbledore's clear voice. His bright blue eyes smiled up at the Exorcists (and Komui) from his cluttered yet neat desk. "Thank you for taking the time to come to this room when you all could be resting peacfully in your dormitories. But where are my manners? Here- please take a seat." He swept his arm in an arc across his desk, and seven comfortable looking chairs appeared out of thin air.

"I shall take your offer," Komui said, bowing slightly. He sat down in the middle chair and motioned to his sister and the others. "Come on guys."

When the Exorcists were all seated, Dumbledore weaved his fingers through each other and leaned on his hands. He was calm and relaxed, and Allen felt a great serene power flow around in the air around the old man. "Now, am I sure you are all expecting an explanation."

"Absolutely," snapped Kanda, who had been silent for so long that Allen'd forgotten his presense. "Tell us why we were called here. We have an Earl to destroy; we've no time to waste here."

"Kanda," Lenalee gasped, "don't be so rude!"

"He has every right to be angered, Lenalee. No need to worry," Dumbledore chuckled. "And Mr. Kanda, you will be getting your explanation in a moment." He waved his hand again, and a pile of papers landed in Komui's lap. With another wave, more piles appeared in front of the Exorcists. "You do not have to read them right now. You may read them during your stay here. Just in case you may forget details about your, ahem, mission here."

"So," Lavi said slowly, as if choosing his words, "what _is _our mission here?"

The headmaster of Hogwarts closed his eyes. "It seems that your villian in your world, the Millenium Earl, has joined hands with our villian, Lord Voldemort," he said.

"What?" Allen gasped, jumping out of his seat. "The Earl?"

"Yes, he has joined hands with Voldemort."

"Who is this _Voldemort_, anyways?" Kanda asked, glaring at Allen.

Dumbledore sighed. "He is the most greatly feared wizard these days. Killing many of our people, destroying a lot of the outside world. I fear that, if he and the Earl join forces and attack the world, it will surely fall to their power."

"No," whispered Lenalee. "We won't let that happen..."

"Is that why we were called to your school?" Allen asked. "Can't you...can't your magic defeat this Voldemort?"

Lavi tugged on his friend's sleeve. "Sit down, Allen. I'll explain," he said. "You know what I said earlier, right? How wizards and witches used to be taught something similar to exorcism in this world? Well, exorcism- anything similar to it, even- was banned form this school and any part of the magic world several centuries ago by what is now the Ministry of Magic. So no one here, other than us, know how to destroy Akuma. If Voldemort attacks Hogwarts with the Akuma, the school will stand no chance against it. That's why Dumbledore came to seek us. Us, who are extremely old schooled compared to the students here; us, who lived almost a century before these people; us, who were and are the only remaining Exorcists in Europe."

"Why was it banned?" Miranda asked quietly, seeming scared of speaking up. "Exorcists destroy Akuma and save people's souls. Maybe it's just me, but Exorcists aren't bad people..."

"To the Ministry, exorcism was just as bad as murder. Destroying a body that once used to belong to humans; they do not see that saving one Akuma is like killing a hundred humans," Dumbledore answered.

Krory leaned back in his chair and fiddled with his hair. "To put it simple, our mission is basically the same as usual. Destroy any attacking Akuma, and in the meantime, find information about the Earl and Voldemort and hopefuly defeat them. Don't let our identity as Exorcists be found out, and follow the rules of your world," he summarized. "Correct, Headmaster?"

"Precisely," said the old man. "Especially around Professor Umbridge. As respectable her authority may be, you Exorcists should not let your guard down around a woman who works for the Ministry. But maybe, if you talk to Harry Potter and his friends, you could get more help gathering information. He has reliable sources, and he will be glad to do anything to help in the downfall of Voldemort. Also, most of our staff knows who you are, mostly all but Professor Umbridge. No need to fear them, I assure you."

"Alright. It...sounds...quite...easy," Allen mumbled. "But difficult enough. What should I say about my hand?" He held up his left hand, taking off the glove in the process, and showed Dumbledore the red, scaly skin that covered his hand- his anti-Akuma weapon, the Innocence that he was born with.

"Say you burned it," Lavi suggested, and Kanda nodded in agrement. When Allen stared at the Japanese swordsman in shock, he muttered, "You're clumsy enough that anyone will believe it, you bean sprout."

"Oh, thanks."

Dumbledore smiled and stood up. The Exorcists followed suit. "Thank you all for letting me waste time off of your resting hours. Now, as a last minute information: Mr. Lee, Krory, Miss Lotto- considering that you three are a bit too old to be one of our students, I would like you to stay and help me out in my office; unless, of course, you find a teacher you would like to aid. Lavi and Kanda, I would say you are a bit older, but since you both don't look too much older than the others, you could join the seventh years (without taking exams, not to worry) in their lessons and learn with them. Allen and Lenalee, you will join the fifth years in their classes. Oh yes, and please do be careful not to say Voldemort's name out loud at school. If you must, we refer to him as You-Know-Who, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and other names."

"Thank you for the warning; we shall keep it in mind," Komui promised, and he bowed to the headmaster. 

"I will have these house elves take you to your dormitories," Dumbledore offered. "I do not want my guests lost." He motioned to the back of the room, where three tiny, thin elves stood waiting patiently. They looked plenty ugly, but after years of seeing Akuma, they looked quite adorable to Allen. One of them, who seemed more clean and well-kept than the others scurried up to him, Lavi, and Lenalee and curtesied.

"Dobby the house elf. Dobby will take sirs and misses to the Gryffindor dormitory."

Lenalee smiled at the elf's politeness and patted his head. "Please do, Dobby."

Dobby smiled wide. "Yes, miss," it bowed again.

"Good night, everyone," said Dumbledore.

* * *

It was the next morning at the breakfast table that Harry Potter and his friends saw the weird group who'd arrived last night. Harry and Ron were both fast asleep by the time the three Gryffindor "outsiders" had come back, apparently. Ron's older twin brothers, Fred and George were chatting away with Lavi, who looked quite interested in whatever they were talking about, and Allen Walker, the strange white haired boy Hermione was talking to, was scarfing down a huge pile of waffles. Lenalee, the cute Chinese girl who reminded Harry of his crush, Cho Chang, was sitting beside him and eating quietly. 

Hermione sat down beside Allen. Ron after a moment's hesitation, sat down heavily beside her and sulked.

"Good morning Allen," Hermione said, and the boy looked up from his food. He sat up straight upon recognizing her and gulped down whatever he had in his overstuffed mouth.

"Good...good morning Hermione," he said sheepishly.

The girl smiled and pulled a plate of toast towards herself. Turning to Ron, she said, "I'd forgotten Wood has left. I suppose that will make quite a differnce on the team?"

"I s'pose," Harry replied, sitting down opposite his friends. "He was a good Keeper..."

"Still, it won't hurt to have some new blood, will it?" Ron commented, fidgeting slightly.

Allen, who'd been listening to their conversation, apparently, tapped on Hermione's shoulder. "Excuse me, but what's a Keeper?" he asked innocently.

Ron blanched and stared at Allen. "You mean you don't know what _Quidditch_ is? Blimey! You're just as bad as Harry was during first year!"

"Hey," said Harry. He grinned. Allen still looked confused.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm quite..new to your world, I guess.

"Not to worry," Hermione assured him. "I came from a completely non-magical family. And Harry too, even though he's half blooded."

Harry leaned across the table and grabbed a waffle off Allen's plate. "Don't hog all the food, please, Allen. Anyways, if you put it in the non-magical way, Quidditch is basically soccer on broomsticks."

"Harry's one of the best players on our house team; he's only lost one game so far," Hermione added.

Ron looked up at the ceiling. "Ah, mail's here."

There was a loud clattering, whooshing, hooting, and hundreds of owls flew into the dining hall. Harry, scanned the air quickly and looked down at his food once again, seeing as his snow white owl, Hedwig, was nowhere to be seen, and that his godfather, Sirius Black, probably had no letter to send to him with information on Voldemort.

With a yelp of surprise, though, Allen upsetted a goblet of pumpkin juice, and his hand flew to his hood from where he grabbed a golden ball. "Tim, I don't know if it'll happen but I don't want you getting eaten by owls, too," he muttered to nothing in particular.

"Is that the _Snitch_?" Ron said to Harry, who shrugged.

"Don't worry, Allen. It's just the morning mail. Nothing to fret about," Hermione said.

"Yes, but...Timcampy! Where are you going? People will see you!" Allen gasped. Lenalee, too, was looking down at the boy's hands in confusion when a yellowish gold ball whizzed up into the air. "Tim...!"

Harry was watching the scene on the other side of the table in slight awe when the golden "Snitch" flew out of Allen's grip and right into his slice of pie. "Wah!" he exclaimed as pieces of pumpkin splattered his face.

An owl landed in front of Hermione, a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ held in its beaks. She tugged it out and placed a coin, a Knut, in the leather pouch on its leg and opened the newspaper as the bird took off.

Harry, feeling irritated at seeing the magazine, which had many a times written nonsense about both Harry and Sirius, scoffed. "What are you still getting that for? I'm not bothering...load of rubbish."

"It's best to know what the enemy are saying," replied Hermione and started reading.

"Enemy?" Allen repeated. Lenalee looked at Harry inquiringly. "What enemy?"

Harry saw Ron trying to catch his eye and looked his way. The red haired boy was questioning, probably asking if it would be alright to tell this new boy about their ultimate enemy. Obviously, none of the guests knew the going-ons of the magic world. To answer the question, Harry nodded.

Harry looked around to make sure nobody else was listening. Satsified that everyone was more into their own food and conversations, and seeing that McGonagall was still handing out schedules to the students on the other end of the table, he leaned in towards Allen and Lenalee and asked, "Have you two heard of the man, Voldemort?"

Allen and Lenalee looked slightly surprised at the name (Ron shuddered, of course). The two of them glanced at each other for a moment and nodded. "Professor Dumbledore told us about him last night. Told us to...well, watch out just in case. What's this got to do with the newspaper?"

Ron took a trembling breath and answered. "Most people think that You-Know-Who's gone. Dead. They think that...that Harry killed him or something."

"I almost did, when I was about a year old," Harry explained to two confused faces. "Voldemort killed my parents, and he tried to kill me, but it didn't work out for him. But Dumbledore said that his failing to kill me somehow made him weak, and he's been in hiding for thirteen years. But just a couple months ago, there was this accident...and..."

Lenalee held up her hand to stop Harry. "He came back, is that what you're trying to say? "

Harry nodded. "Yes."

"And no one believes you."

"Mhm."

"And those are the enemies? The people who don't believe you?"

"Yep."

Hermione emerged from behind the newspaper just then. McGonagall walked up to the five of them and handed out their schedules.

"Look at today!" Ron groaned. "History of Magic, double Potions, Divination, and double Defense Against the Dark Arts...Binns, Snape, Trelaeney, and Umbridge all in one day! I wish Fered and George'd hurry up and get those Skiving Snacksboxes serted..."

Allen and Lenalee were looking down at their schedules. Harry wondered, _What classes do they have?_

"Do mine ears deceive me?" said Fred as he and George, followed by Lavi, walked up to the group of fifth years, and the three of them sat down in the crowded space next to Harry. "Hogwarts prefects surely don't want to skive off lessons?"

"Look what we've got today," Ron said, shoving his schedule under Fred's nose. "That's the worst Monday I've ever seen."

"Fair point, little bro," Fred replied as he glanced at the column. "You can have a bit of Nosebleed Nougat cheap if you like."

Allen looked up from his schedule and looked at Fred and George. "I think I can understand Umbridge and Snape, but is the rest that bad?" he asked. The twins nodded.

"Why's it cheap?" Ron said, regarding the Nosebleed Nougat.

"Because you'll keep bleeding till you shrivel up, we haven't got an antidote yet," George answered.

"Cheers, but I think I'll take the lessons."

"And speaking of your Skiving Snackboxes," Hermione said, "you can't advertise for testers on the Gryffindor notce board."

"Says who?"

"Says me. And Ron."

"Leave me out of it."

The twins sniggered as Hermione glared at Ron.

"You'll be singing a different tune soon enough, Hermione," said Fred. "You're starting your fifth year, you'll be begging us for a Snackbox before long."

"And why would starting didth year mean I want a Skiving Snackbox?"

"Fifth year's O.W.L. year," said George.

"So?" Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"So you've got your exams coming up, haven't you? They'll be keeping your noses so hard to the grindstone they'll be rubbed raw."

"Half our year had minor breakdowns coming up to O.W.L.s. Tears and tantrum...Patricia Stimpson kept coming over faint..."

"Kenneth Towler came out in boils, d'you remember?;

"That's 'cause you put Bulbadox Powder in his pajamas."

"Oh, yeah. I'd forgotten...Hard to keep track sometimes, isn't it?"

George leaned his head on his hands, his elbows on the table. (Harry saw that Lavi was deep in conversation with Allen and Lenalee, although the three of them looked quite cheerful compared to some other times.) "Anyway, it's a nightmare of a year, the fifth. If you care about exam results anyway," George said. "Fred and I managed to keep our spirits up somehow."

"Yeah...you got, what was it, three O.W.L.s each?" Ron said in exasperation.

"Yep," answered Fred carelessly. "But we feel our futures lie outside the world of academic achievment."

At that, Harry saw, Allen, Lenalee, and Lavi looked up at the twins. He thought he spotted a flash of admirance (or awe, shock?) in their eyes before George went on talking. "We seriously debated whether we were going to beother coming back for our seventh year," he said happily, "now that' we've got-"

Panic seared through Harry, and he shot the boy a glare, hoping to catch his eye and also hoping to look alarmed. He certainly hope George would get the message and not blurt about the gift Harry'd given the twins at the end of last year...

"-now that we've got our O.W.L.s," George comcluded in a hurry. Apparently, he'd gotten it. "I mean, do we really need N.E.W.T.s? But we didn't think Mum could take us leaving school early, not on top of Percy turning out to be the world's biggest prat."

"We're not going to waste our last year here, though," Fred added. "We're going to use it to do a bit of market research, find out exactly what the average Hogwarts student requires from his joke shor, carefully evaluate the results of our research, and then produce the products to fit the demand...also with help from our new dear friend, Lavi, here, of course."

Harry saw Allen mouth something to Lavi, and Lavi whisper back. The white haired boy looked somewhat skepticle, yet satisfied with the answer.

"But where are you going to get the gold to start a joke shop?" Hermione was all doubts. "You're going to need all the ingredients and materials- and premises too, I suppose..."

Harry, feeling heat rise to his face, dropped his fork and dove down to get it. Above, Fred said, "Ask us no questions and we'll tell you no lies, Hermione. C'mon, George, Lavi, if we get there early we might be able to sell a few valuable Ears before Herbology."

Harry got out from under the table to see Fred, George, and Lavi walk out of the dining hall. Allen and Lenalee, once again, were talking amongst themselves, but Harry swore he saw the golden object (that had attacked his pie) staring at him as if it knew something the others didn't.

Hermione, meanwhile, was thoughtful. "What did that mean? 'Ask us no questions...' Does that mean they've already got some gold to start a joke shop?"

* * *

Hello readers, this is Kagine324.

I've gotten a question regarding the sorting hat in one of the reviews for chapter two:

**Q:**_ You do realize that the hat speaks to them mentally, right? It doesn't tell everyone else what it's saying to the guy wearing it. Or girl._

**A: **I do not remember the hat talking mentally, for it was a long time since I actually read any of the books. All I remember is the hat moving its mouth in the first movie, so I used that. The things I have here regarding Harry Potter are probably a mix of the movies and the book, so maybe they're not really accurate in places.


	4. First Classes at Hogwarts

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Four: First Classes At Hogwarts

* * *

**Disclaimers: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

"You know, I've been wondering about that," Allen heard Ron say thoughtfully. "They bought me a set of new dress robes this summer, and I couldn't understand where they got the Galleons..." 

"D'you reckon it's true this year's going to be really tough?" Harry changed the topic. "Because of the exams?"

The young Exorcist tuned out the three students and turned to Lenalee. "Well, according to what Ron said earlier, we both have the same classes as him. What do you want to do? Wait for them to finish talking so that we could ask them where to go?"

"It _does_ sound like the best idea," answered the Chinese girl. "I mean, I don't want to get lost again."

"A'ight, wait we shall do," Allen said. They didn't have to wait so long, for a couple minutes later, the threesome were beginning to stand up to go to classes.

"Hey, wait- Hermione," Lenalee called. The bushy haired girl stopped midstep and turned around. "Allen and I are, um, I guess new to the castle. Could you show us around...if you don't mind, of course."

"Sure thing," Hermione replied heartily. "What classes do you have for today?"

Lenalee and Allen showed her their schedules. Hermione skimmed it through and said, "Well, apparently you two have matching schedules with Harry and Ron (I don't take Divination). You could follow us around."

Lenalee beamed. "Thanks a lot, Hermione!" Allen nodded his thanks as well.

"D'you know what you want to do after Hogwarts?" Harry asked as the five of them left the dining hall (which, Allen had found out, was actually called the Great Hall).

"Not really," Ron answered, looking quite deep in thought. "Except...well..."

"What?" Harry said, nudging his friend.

"Well, it'd be cool to be an Auror."

"Yeah, it would."

"But," Ron sighed, "they're, like, the elite. You've got to be really good. What about you, Hermione?"

"I don't know. I think I'd really like to do somethign worthwhile," the girl replied.

"An Auror's worthwhile!" Harry said defensively.

"So's Exorcism, but that' forbidden," Allen muttered under his breath so only Lenalee could hear. She, in return, smiled sadly.

"Yes, it is," Hermione said back to Harry, "but it's not the only worthwhile thing. I mean, if I could take S.P.E.W. further..."

"S.P.E.W.?"Allen asked.

Hermione turned to Allen, her eyes bright, and the boy got a naging feeling of getting trapped. She had the same aura Komui sometimes had. "S.P.E.W. stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare," she said proudly. "Those poor house elves are treated so roughly by wizards and witches, and I can't stand it! I want to make this organization grow into a big one so that house elves could have more rights."

"Yea, but don't you know, Hermione?" Ron said. "House elves _like labor_."

"Not Dobby though," Harry said.

"He's a weird house elf..."

"Ron!"

"I think that's wonderful," Allen said. He imagined Dobby, the house elf from the other night, and how he and his fellow elves worked under cruel masters (Allen felt a sense of similarity between himself and the elves, remembering how he himself had been treated by his master, the Exorcist General Cross Marian). "Hermione, I'd like to help you with S.P.E.W. You're right! Those elves do deserve more freedom!"

"Oh, Allen!" Hermione exclaimed, whipping around and grabbing Allen's hands. He swore he saw tears in her eyes as she stared up at him gratefully. "Thank you so much for understanding!"

"Um, ahem...hahahahaha.."

* * *

_Duuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhh..._

That was what went on inside Allen's brain during History of Magic. The teacher was a ghost, and he barely seemed to notice that his students were not even bothering to listen. No one other than Hermione and Lenalee were, at least. Allen didn't pay half as much attention as them, but he took notes for what he thought was important, and out of the corner of his eye he watched as Harry and Ron played game after game of hangman on a scrap of parchment. His pet, or golem, Timcampy, the golden ball, was hidden away safely inside his hood.

The bell rang, relieving them all from the droning, and Hermione said as they walked out of the clasroom, "How would it be if I refused to lend you my notes this year?"

"We'd fail our O.W.L.s. If you want that on your conscience, Hermione..." Ron said.

"Well, you'd deserve it. You don't even try to listen to him, do you?"

"We do try! We just haven't got your brains or your memory or your concentration- you're just cleverer than we are- is it nice to rub it in?" Ron whined.

Hermione looked a bit pleased as she said, "Oh, don't give me that rubbish," and stalked off out into the courtyard. Harry, Ron, Allen, and Lenalee followed.

As the three real mages sat down under a balcony, the two Exorcists sat a few feet away. "What do you think, Lenalee? If Hermione really doesn't give those two her notes, why don't you?" Allen asked lightly.

"Maybe. I mean, we do owe them some kind of thanks," Lenalee smiled. "So what do we have next, Potions? Isn't the teacher, Snape, that we person from last night? I didn't really like him much."

"I'm sure nobody could be worse than that pink cardigan lady, Lenalee. You know, Professor Umbridge. She looks like a nosy person, and to think that she could ruin our mission in the snap of her fingers...it makes me shudder." To emphasize his point, Allen shook his shoulders.

Lenalee laughed. She dug into her schoolbag and took out the files they'd been given by Dumbledore. "Look, here's a list of all the staff members who know about us, it says they're all members of the Order of the Phoenix- whatever that is..."

"It's probably something like the Black Order," Allen said, leaning over and looking at the list as well. "McGonagall, Hagrid (I wonder where he went, by the way? He was gone by the end of dinner last night...), Snape, blah blah blah...Wow. Lots of people."

"That's the bell," Harry's voice said, sounding gloomy. He led the way this time, since Hermione and Ron were arguing about God knows what, and the Exorcists decided to follow silently. The nearer they got to the next classroom though, Harry's posture seemed to get straighter. By the time the classroom door opened, the boy was standing tall and smiling slightly. The five of them filed into the classroom and sat down at their own table, Harry sitting between an irritable Hermione and Ron while Allen and Lenalee sat across from them.

"Settle down," the teacher said icily. He closed the door and the classroom fell silent, but his gaze lingered for a short while on Allen and Harry. "Before we begin today's lesson," he continued. "I think it is appropriate to introduce to you our two new...companions." At that, everyone in the classroom turned their heads to look at Allen and Lenalee. "Mr. Walker, Miss Lee, I hope you enjoy your stay. And also, I shall remind you that next June you will be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have leanred about the composition and use of magical potions. Moronic though some of this class undoubtly are, I expect you to scrape an 'Acceptable' in your O.W.L. or suffer my...displeasure.

"After this year, of course, many of you will cease studying with me. I take only the very best into my N.E.W.T. Potions class, which means that some of us will certainly be saying good-bye. But we have another year to go before that happy moment of farewell, so whether you are intending to attempt N.E.W.T. or not, I advice all of you to concentrate your efforts upon maintaining the high-pass level I have come to expect from my O.W.L. students."

Snape swept up the front of the class and took out his wand. "Today we will be mixing a potion that often comes up at Ordinary Wizarding Level: the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and sooth agitation. Be warned: If you are too havey-handed with the ingredients you will need to pay close attention to what you are doing. The ingredients and method"- Snape flicked his wand- "are on the blackboard" -they appeared there- "you will find everything you need"- another flick- "in the store cupboard"- it opened- "you have an hour and a half...Start."

Upon grabbing everything they needed, Allen and Lenalee sat down with their cauldrons (which they'd found by their trunks that morning; probably Dumbledore had lent it to them). Allen, not wanting to disappoint the teacher or suffer whatever punishment he'd get from failing, was extremely careful as he measured, cut, poured, and mixed the ingredients. Lenalee also had a look of concentration in her eyes. Allen found that, if he was careful enough, the potion wasn't that hard to make.

"A light silver vapor should now be rising from your potion," Snape called after an hour and twenty minutes.

Allen and Lenalee smiled at each other, seeing that their potions were both silver and shimmering. Hermione, too, looked satisfied as she looked at her potion, but Harry's and Ron's didn't look right. Snape passed by looking silently at Hermione's, and moved on to Harry, where he smirked. "Potter, what is this supposed to be?" he asked, and several Slytherin students up at the front of the room turned around looking expectant.

Allen watched through his bangs as Harry tensed his shoulders. "The Draught of Peace," the boy answered.

Snape raised an eyebrow. "Tell me, Potter, can you read?"

A Slytherin boy with sleek blond hair laughed loudly, and Harry looked ready to loose it. "Yes, I can," he said through gritted teeth.

"Read me the third line of the nistructions for me, Potter."

Harry looked up and squinted past Allen's shoulder at the blackboard. " ' Add powdered moonstone, stir three times counterclockwise, allowe to simmer for seven minutes, then hadd two drops of syrup of hellebore.' "

"Did you do everything on the third line, Potter?"

Harry mumbled something barely audible.

"I beg your pardon?" said Snape, pretending to sound pleasant.

"No," Harry said. "I forgot the hellebore..."

"I know you did, Potter, which means that this mess it utterly worthless. _Evanesco."_ Allen and Lenalee didn't know what the teacher did, but they immediately could tell that Harry's potion was now gone. They couldn't understand though, why had Snape picked on Harry only? As far as they could tell, Ron's potion wasn't any better than his, and neither was the one of the nervous looking boy's across the room. Snape, although, probably couldn't care less. "Those of you who _have_ managed to read the instruction, fill one flagon with a sample of your potion for testing. Homework: twelve inches of parchment on the properties of moonstone and its uses in potion-making, to be handed in Tuesday."

Allen and Lenalee poured their potions into a flagon, and at the same time they watched as Harry rougly cleared away his belongings, seething. By the time the bell rang and the two returned to their table, he was gone.

"Poor Harry," Lenalee sighed as they, followed by Hermione and Ron, left Snape's classroom.

Harry was already angrily shoving food into his mouth by the time the four of them reached the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall for lunch. Allen and Lenalee dragged Lavi away from the twins (who waved in mock horror and sadness), and they sat down across the table from Harry and his friends, who were trying to ocnsole his anger.

"That was really unfair," Hermione was saying, and explained what had happened to one of the Slytherin's robes.

"Yeah, well," Harry grumbled, "since when has Snape ever been fair to me?"

"What happened?" Lavi asked Allen, and he explained Snape's unfairness during class. The Bookman's apprentice smirked. "Well, next time I'll set his butt on fire, how about that?"

"No you don't, Lavi!" Lenalee hissed.

"...Now that he's in the Order and everything," Hermione was saying.

"Poisonous toadstools don't change their spots," said Ron. "Anyway, I've always thought Dumbledore was cracked trusting Snape, where's the evidence he ever really stopped working for You-Know-Who?"

"I think Dumblefore's probably got plenty of evidence, even if he doesn't share it with you, Ron," Hermione snapped.

Ron opened in mouth to retort, but Harry interrupted, "Oh, shut up, the pair of you." He continued depsite Hermione and Ron's looks of appalment. "Can't you give it a rest? You're always having a go at each other, it's driving me mad." He put down his fork and grabbing his schoolbag, left the Great Hall.

"What is his problem?" Hermione seethed the moment she recovered.

Allen looked pitifully at the slightly open doors. "I guess I know how you and Lavi feel now, Lenalee, every time Kanda and I start arguing," he said, "but I'll remind you that I didn't start our fight."

Lavi laughed. "Not to worry, Allen, Yu's always in a foul mood. Now where did he go? I'm going to go see if he's gathered anything important about...well, yeah." With that, Lavi stood swiftly and skipped over to the Ravenclaw table where Komui was apparently bugging Kanda into oblivion. Allen looked at the Hufflepuff table, but Krory and mIranda were nowhere to be seen.

"So," Lenalee said, eying Ron and Hermione curiously. "What this thing called the Order that Snape is a part of?"

The two fifth years exchanged panicked looks, and they started talking all at once. "Well, um- you see, it's kind of complicated..."

"It's alright," Allen assured. "We're not your enemies," he lowered his voice, "and we won't tell anyone about your Order of the Phoenix. Not to worry, you guys. We're on _your_ side."

"Just try not to talk about it in this crowded place," Lenalee warned as she and Allen stood up from the table. "You don't know, the next time someone overhears, if it's one of us, or one of them."


	5. The Boy Who Sees Sadness

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Five: The Boy Who Sees Sadness

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

Ron climbed through the trapdoor into the overstuffed, perfumed room, also known as the Divination classroom in the North Tower of Hogwarts. Some other classmates were braving the smelly heat as well, and one of them was Harry, sitting in a shady corner, slouching in his chair. Ron weaved as fast as he could through the circular tables, overstuffed poufs, and chairs towards his friend and sat down beside him. "Hermione and me have stopped arguing," was the first thing out of his mouth.

"Good," Harry grunted, not yet looking at him.

"But Hermione says she thinks it would be nice if you stopped taking out your temper on us," Ron said, remembering the message he'd received.

"I'm not-"

Ron held up his hands in defense and interrupted, not wanting to get his head bit off. "I'm just passing on the message. But I reckon she's right. It's not our fault how Seamus and Snape treat you."

"I never said it-"

"Lenalee! Stop...you don't know who'll see you!"

"Come on, I'm just running fast, that's what they'll think...or maybe one of Fred's new jokes, for all they'll care!"

"...At least we won't be late..._hey_! Don't jump up! Aaaaahhhhh..."

Harry and Ron looked up from their chilled conversation as the white haired boy and the Chinese girl fell with a crash onto the floor. Other students were either staring or laughing softly. The two detangled themselves and wobbled up to their feet, and looking around, landed their eyes on Harry and Ron, who motioned to the table next to theirs.

"Hello, guys," said a dusty, scrawny Allen.

"I guess you were a bit...shocked," Lenalee mumbled, blushing slightly, and she received a knowing look from Allen. "Oh, be quiet Allen. It was worth it. My legs were cramped."

"What were you-"

"Good day," said the Divination teacher, Professor Trelawney, sweeping out of the shadows and talking in her usual misty, dreamy voice. "And welcome back to Divination. I have, of course, been following your fortunes most carefully over the holidays, and am delighted to see that you have all returned to Hogwarts safely- as, of course, I knew you would."

Ron looked over at Allen and Lenalee; the former was nodding off already, and the latter was smiling at his bobbing head with slight exasperation and amusement.

"You will find on the tables before you copies of _The Dream Oracle,_ by Inigo Imago. Dream interpretation is a most important means of divining the future and one that may very probably be tested in your O.W.L. Not, of course, I believe examination passes or failures are of the remostest importance when it comes to the sacred art of divination. If you have the Seeing Eye, certificates and grades matter very little. However, the headmaster likes you to sit the examination, so...

"Turn, please, to the introduction and read what Imago has to say on the matter of dream interpretation. Then divide into pairs. Use _The Dream Oracle_ to interpret each other's most recent dreams. Carry on."

Ron opened his book and, reading the first sentence, decided it best he waste away the boring class reading, and so he joined Harry in staring at the words and reading without it entering their brains at all. Beside them, Allen and Lenalee had opened their books as well, but Allen gazed at the page for five seconds before his head fell with a thud onto the paper and he started snoring. Lenalee ignored the boy and read the introduction in a flash. Ron saw Professor Trelawney breeze over and quickly return to reading.

"Oh, now, who is this?" Ron heard the professor ask in surprise. "Two new faces, both endearingly adorable."

"Um," Lenalee said, obviously discomfortable, "we're Dumbledore's guests. I'm Lenalee Lee. And Allen Walker."

Allen groaned in his sleep. "No...master...tha'ts...unhuman...aaaaaahhh...no..." he moaned.

"What is the poor boy dreaming about?" Professor Trelawney said worriedly.

"Most likely his master. A nightmare," Lenalee answered. "Recollections of his traumatic past haunting him. I take it it's because of all the stress he's been through..."

"Oh my," Trelawney gasped. The bell rang soon enough, and as everyone began to pack, eager to get out of the room, she assigned them all a month's dream diary for homework.

"Let's get this done and over with," Ron told Harry. "I'm not expecting anything in Umbridge's that I didn't expect in any other classes."

In Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry and Ron met up with Hermione, who smiled at them and greeted Allen cheerfully, asking him how Divination went (she laughed heartily when he told her how he'd been asleep during the whole class, and Lenalee looked quite amused). Ron, seeing how much she was paying attention to the newcomer, clenched his fists and stomped into the classroom and sat down. The rest followed his lead and they all sat down in the back row. Professor Umbridge, in her fluffy pink cardigan and the black bow in her hair, reminding them all of a fly on a toad, was seated at the teacher's desk. Every student was quiet as they entered.

Umbridge waited until the whole class was seated, and then she said, "Well, good morning!"

Allen leaned his chin on the desk and muttered, "Good afternoon," along with some other awkward voices.

"Tut, tut. _That_ won't do, now, will it? I would like you to reply, 'Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge.' One more time, please. Good afternoon, class!"

"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge," the class chanted.

"There, now. That wasn't too difficult, was it? Wands away and quilles out, please," Umbridge said sweetly. The students exchanged gloomy looks and they all put away their wands, pulling out their quills, ink bottles, and parchments instead. Umbridge pulled out her own wand, a short one at that, and tapped the board with it. Words appeared to write themselves in neat, curly handwriting:

_Defense Against the Dark Arts_

_A Return to Basic Principals_

"Well now, your teaching in this subject has been rather dirupted and fragmented, hasn't it?" the teacher stated, clasping her hands neatly in front of her, facing her class. "The constand changing of teachers, many of whom do not seem to have followed the Ministry-approved curriculum, has unfortunately resulted in your being far below the standard we would expect to see in your O.W.L. year.

"You will be pleased to know, however, that these problems are now to be rectified. We will be following a carefully structured, theory-centered, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year. Copy down the following, please."

She tapped the blackboard again, and the first message was replaced by:

_Course aims:_

_1. Understanding the principals underlying defensive magic._

_2. Learning to recognize sitiations in which defensive magic can legally be used._

_3. Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use._

It took the class a couple of minutes to copy the words down, and when they were finished, Umbridge smiled nd said, "Has everybody got a copy of _Defensive Magic Theory _by Wilbert Slinkhard?"

Allen, reaching into his bag, murmured along with some in the class, "Yeah..."

"I think we'll try that again. When I ask you a question, I should like you to reply, "Yes, Professor Umbridge," or "No, Professor Umbridge.' So has, everyone got a copy of _Defensive Magical Theory _by Wilbert Slinkhard?"

"Yes, Professor Umbridge."

"Good. I should like you to turn to page five and read chapter one, 'Basic for Beginners.' There will be no need to talk."

Allen sighed and opened his book. It was a long day. Back home at the Black Order's headquarters, he'd either be enjoying Jerry the cook's company and eating his delicious masterpieces or getting glared at by Kanda or talking to Lenalee- or getting sent on search missions for his evil Master Cross by Komui- not reading some dull book on defense in a classroom he'd never really belong in. It wasn't as if this magical education was going to help his future in any way. Now, it would of course been so much more worth the dullness if _something _happened that was somehow connected to the Earl.

_I wonder how Kanda's coping,_ Allen thought as he absentmindedly flipped through the book's pages. He saw that Lenalee was doing the same, but Hermione hadn't even opened her book...

Allen's eyes widene in shock, and watched her as she watched Professor Umbridge. After a while, Harry and several more students were all staring fixedly at her, and it became impossible for Umbridge to ignore her any longer. She turned her pudgy face towards Hermione as if she'd just noticed her and asked sweetly, "Did you want to ask something about the chapter, dear?"

"Not about the chapter, no."

"Well, we're reading just now. If you have other queries we can deal with them at the end of class."

"I've got a query about your course aims," Hermione stated clearly.

Umbridge raised an h eyebrow. "And you name is-?"

Hermione told her.

"Well, Miss Granger, I think the course aims are perfectly clear if you read them through carefully."

Hermione replied bluntly, "Well, I don't. There't nothing written here about _using _defensive magic spells."

There was a short silence after that, but even if the conversation'd continued, Allen didn't notice. His mind went blank as a deafening sound of machine wheels echoed in his ears, and he felt his left eye move on its own. He covered it with his hand lest anyone who saw the rather gruesome eye be shocked into oblivion, but he knew this feeling:

_There was an Akuma nearby._

"Lenalee," he whispered, "do you know any way to get out of the classroom without the teacher noticing?"

The other Exorcist peered at him in question. "Why?" she asked.

Allen looked over at Umbridge, who was still staring at Hermione. "There's an _Akuma,_ Lenalee. It's somewhere...outside!"

The look on her face was of pure disbelief as the information sank in. She looked panicked for a moment, but said, "Where, exactly? Can you see?"

"Two outside in the courtyard, by that strange hut down by the forest," Allen answered. "Timcampy...come out of my pocket." As the golden golem peeked out from Allen's coat pocket, the boy scribbled onto a piece of scrap parchment and shoved it into its face. "Take this to Lavi the moment I throw you out of this room. Lenalee, I want you to stay inside and watch over the classroom; there's none in here, but if the Akuma are so close then we don't know if it might come inside. When it does...yell for Kanda, and then we'll ask Dumbledore what to do with Umbridge when she finds out. They're wizards; I'm sure they know what to do with memories we don't want."

"But how will you get out?" Lenalee hissed.

"Watch," Allen winked and raised his hand. "Professor Umbridge?" he called, sounding innocent and (Lenalee doubted her ears) anxious.

The teacher looked away from her argument with Hermione, and Harry who was seething at her, and turned to Allen, her expression sweet again. "Yes, Mr-?"

"Allen Walker."

"Can I help you somehow, Mr. Walker, or do you have another bizarre statement like Mr. Potter?"

Allen glanced at Harry and back to Umbridge. "No, Professor. I...I have a stomachache! "

Umbridge stared at him with a blank expression. "A stomachache, you say? Do you want to go to the Hospital Wing?"

"No, ma'am," Allen said, wimpering and holding his abdomen, and at the same time handing the parchment scrap to Timcampy, who clamped it between its teeth. "I think it would be gone if I lie down...may I be excused? I will come back and, oww, get my homework assignment as soon as I can, and I'll make sure to get it done." He hoped against hope that his lame excuse will work.

There was a pause, and then: "Very well, Mr. Walker. You may be excused. I've seen you swallow those unimaginable quantities of food at your table, do take care of your body, dear."

"I will, Professor, thank you," Allen said. He packed his book into his bag, plastering a look of discomfort on his face as he did so, and stood up. "I'm sorry for interrupting class..." With that, he pushed Timcampy back into his pocket and shuffled out of the room. Once outside, and walking in the direction of the Gryffindor common room until he was well out of Umbridge's hearing range, he let Timcampy out of his prison. "Okay, Tim. Go find Lavi and give him the note. He's in McGonagall's -that's down the hall- and she knows about us, but try not to get seen, alright?"

The golem nodded and flew away, leaving Allen to stare out the window and at the two shadows that stretched across the lawn in front of the lone hut by the Dark Forest.

"Why did I wish for something like this?" he asked himself. "God, Mana, sometimes I don'tknow if I'm glad you cursed me or not. Being able to see Akuma's souls like this...and having them appear when I wish for an escape from boredom...it's hell."

* * *

This is the author- 

To those of you who've been waiting, here's some kind of action. I figured I should have made _something_ from D. Gray-Man happen in this story sooner or later. So far all I've written is background information and peaceful first day of school...(sorry...)


	6. Exorcism

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Six: Exorcism

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

Fiddling with the wand Komui had handed him after breakfast, Lavi watched in slight amazement as the hawk he was supposed to be turning into a statue jumped into the air and dropped down as a leather handbag (the girls beside him giggled at that.) 

Kanda, who had transfigured his hawk into a magnificent marble statue, peered at him in irritation. "You suck," he muttered.

"Well, thanks Yu," Lavi grumbled. "It's hard!"

"Cheh...you and Moyashi are so-" Kanda broke off, staring at something under his desk. Lavi blinked and raised his eyebrow.

"What's wrong, Yu?" he asked.

"Don't call me that. Isn't that Moyashi's golem?"

"Huh? Oh, you mean Timcampy? I don't know..." Lavi said, following Kanda's gaze. The golden ball peered up at him from beside the Japanese warrior's shoe, a crumpled piece of parchment clamped tightly in his mouth. "Hey, it _is_ Tim! What're you doing here?" he hissed.

"Mr. Kanda, Lavi? May I help you?" called Professor McGonagall from the front of the room.

Lavi looked up and shook his head, smiling in what he hope was a convincing one. "No, Professor. I just dropped something and it's under Yu's foot. Come on, Yu, move your foot!" He ducked under the desk, scooped Timcampy off the floor, and sat up again.

McGonagall's lips were a thin line as she squinted suspiciously at Lavi, but she turned back to the rest of the class without a word. The rest of the class, who were all turned towards Lavi and Kanda, swirved around in their chairs to return to their transfiguring.

"So? What's that parchment in his mouth?" Kanda asked quietly.

"Let's look," Lavi replied, tugging at the paper. He unfolded it and read it silently before handig it to Kanda. "Okay, so any idea how to get ouf of here without causing much trouble?"

Kanda flicked his wand and his statue turned back into a hawk. "Turn yours back into a bird," he said shortly. When Lavi didn't respond, he shot the red haired boy a look and said, "Turn it back into a bird!"

"Oh, right."

The moment both hawks were back on their pedestals waiting to be turned into what they hoped to be a statue, Kanda flicked his wand and sparks shot out of it, hitting his own bird. The hawk screeched loudly and began to peck and bite at Lavi's, which screeched back, and soon enough, both birds were in the air, attacking each other. McGonagall and the rest of the class (including a shocked Lavi and a smirking Kanda) watched as the hawks flew out of the window and onto the grounds.

The classroom went silent.

"Whose...were those birds?" McGonagall asked.

Kanda glanced at Lavi, and the two Exorcists raised their hands. "They're ours, Professor," Lavi fibbed. "They started to fight all of a sudden."

The teacher looked shocked, as if she wanted the two boys out of her classroom- out of the _school_- this minute. "Well, I suggest you go fetch them before we lose them, shan't you two? Go, I want them back before the day ends," she ordered.

"Yes, Professor," Lavi bowed, and followed Kanda as they rushed out of the room. "Good going," he commented the moment they started running down the hall.

"Of course," Kanda replied monotonously.

"Kanda, Lavi!" a voice called.

"Huh?" The said two skidded to a halt in front of an open window and leaned out. On the grass outside they saw a white haired, coated figure standing with two female Hogwarts stuudents, Allen.

"What the heck is Moyashi doing?" Kanda almost yelled. "He tells out there's Akuma here, and what's he doing? _Flirting _with two witches!"

"But hey, they're cute," Lavi laughed, and he jumped out of the window. "Come on, Yu!" he called. "Only Allen knows who they really are." He heard Kanda groan, and the samurai was beside him in no time. They landed on the ground in unison, on either side of their fellow Exorcist. "Hey Allen, who're these cute girls here?"

The two girls, apparently from Hufflepuff, judging by their uniform, giggled. "Would you like to come with us?" one of them asked, fiddling with her long golden hair. "We could show you somewhere really wonderful..."

"Oh yes," said the other, smiling at Allen, "come with us, boys." She walked up to the boy and leaned her head on his shoulder as if nuzzling his neck (Lavi's mouth fell open, and he muttered something about Allen being popular, and Kanda's grip tightened around his treasured sword, Mugen). "We'll take you to a most wonderful place," the girl whispered.

Lavi saw Allen close his eyes and open them once more. Allen's left eye was activated, staring fixedly into empty space. "I'm sorry, ladies," the boy said calmly, showing no sign of teasing or playing, only seriousness and pity, "but I do not think that is possible. I'd rather have you go to heaven, please, and find peace instead of use your beauty to lure men to their death."

The girl flinched back from Allen, a disgusted look on her face. "How could you tell?" she seethed, her voice an ugly growl compared to her pretty face. A dark star appeared on her forehead as her arm started to morph in to a strange object. Her friend, too, was transforming into a monster as well.

"Level Twos, I see," Allen said. "Sorry to disappoint you, but Akumas cannot hide from me. This curse placed on me by my father allows me to see the souls of an Akuma."

"So you're that Walker boy the Lord Earl was speaking of," said the Akuma as both of them completely transformed into two ugly monsters. "Well, all the better. If we kill you, Lord Earl will give us a great reward!"

"Duck!" Lavi yelled as the Akuma aimed and fired bullets at them through the giant guns built into their bodies. The bullets hit the ground and pentacles- black stars that appeared wherever the virus from an Akuma's body attacked- soon covered the grass.

Allen jumped out of the way of another attack and hid himself in a tree. "We can't let the Akuma destroy the school or damage if too much!" he yelled at Kanda and Lavi. "We have to finish them off really fast, before anyone notices!"

"Roger," Lavi replied, grabbing the hammer strapped to his side, his anti-Akuma weapon, which is powered by an ancient substance called Innocence. "Big Hammer, Little Hammer...Grow, grow, grow!" The hammer grew to an imporssible size, and, that in hand, Lavi jumped high into the air and dived down towards the Akuma Kanda was fighting. "Heads up, Yu! Junior coming through with big-ass hammer!"

"Cheh," the samurai tsked and backed away in a leap as the future-bookman slammed down on the monster with his oversized hammer, destroying it. Kanda boredly looked over at the other Akuma, which was looking for Allen. As for the latter, Kanda had no interest in where he was. He was annoyed, although. "He tells us to hurry and he takes the longest to destroy the Akuma."

"Well, he's done now," Lavi said, pointing at the now screaming Akuma and Allen, who'd stabbed it with his left arm. There was a refreshed, satisfied look on the boy's face, although Kanda saw a shadow of self-doubt and sadness as well as pity in his gray eyes.

Allen yanked his anti-Akuma weapon out of the monster just as it crumbled to dust. He walked up to his fellow Exorcists and dusted off his coat, smiling. "They're gone," he said.

"Hmph," Kanda said. He turned on his heels and looked around; he whistled loudly, and the two hawks from Transfiguring class soared through the air towards him, perching on his arm swiftly. "Come on, Lavi. Get back to class. That McGonagall doesn't like us Exorcists roaming her school, apparently. Better if we hurry back."

"Hey, wait up!" Lavi called, running after Kanda as he walked off towards the castle. "Yu!"

"_Don't _call me Yu!"

Allen watched as his friend and 'enemy' disappeared through the front doors and, reminding himself that he wasn't required to return to Umbridge's at the moment due to his stomachache excuse, spun around in a circle and plopped down on the ground. He breathed in deep, let it all go, and stared up at the gray sky above.

"Oh yeah," he said to the clouds. "It was like this, wasn't it? The day Mana died...so cloudy, cold, and bitter."

His vision blurred. After all these years without his adoptive father, Mana, the man's death still affected him badly. In this foreign, lonely world, it was especially hard on Allen. The boy rolled over onto his side and closed his eyes, submitting to the sudden fatigue and sleepiness that flowed over his body and soul like a warm blanket.

By the time Allen woke up and scurried into the castle, it was dinner. The Great Hall was filled with dining students, and Allen hurried towards an empty space at the Gryffindor table. He reached for the nearest plate of salad, and at the same time, so did a little girl.

"Oh," they both said, "sorry, here, go ahead. You take it."

Allen and the girl stared at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing. The latter, a petite, red haired (_Another one?_ Allen wondered) lass with freckles across her nose and lively, cheerful eyes. She wiped tears out of them and smiled warmly. "I'm Ginny Weasley. You're Allen Walker, right?" she asked.

Allen nodded. "I guess a lot of people at thie school know my name...expect Professor Umbridge," he said.

Ginny grimaced, sticking out her tongue in disgust. "I don't like her much. She's, well, I don't know how to put it..."

"Annoying?" Allen suggested. "I have a ton to say about her: obnoxious, irritating, unloveable, froggy, toady-wait that meant the same thing-and annoying," he listed.

"Wow, you must not like her at all," Ginny said, handing Allen the plate of salad. "You're in fifth year, aren't you?"

"Yes- why?"

"I'm just wondering. You're in the same house as I am, and you're in the same year as my brother. You know Ron, don't you? He's my brother."

Allen raised an eyebrow, his fork and several pieces of lettuce sticking out of his mouth. "Willy?"

"Pardon?"

Allen gulped. "Really? Well, I guess he never told me his last name."

Ginny smiled again. "I have three brothers here: Ron, Fred, and George. Fred and George've been hanging out with that Lavi boy a lot lately. I also noticed that Lee Jordan (that's Fred and George's other good friend) has taken a liking in Lavi too. I'm afraid of what would happen to this school, although I'm sure Hermione will keep those four from going over the line," she said, then paused. She flushed suddenly and covered her mouth in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I was rambling, wasn't I?"

"No, it's alright. I like hearing you talk," Allen assured, and the girls across the table from him squealed. "What? Huh..." the boy wondered.

The Weasley girl's face became a deeper shade of red, more than ever. "Um, thank you," she muttered. "Oh! What's that?"

The Exorcist boy turned his confused gaze form the still squealing girls to Ginny, who was staring in the general direction over the top of Severus Snape's head, where something shimering and glittering was buzzing around. Allen squinted to see it more clearly, and when he did, he gasped, "Timcampy," and jumped to his feet. The tiny golem, spotting his master, immediately shot towards him. "Oh shoot, people'll stare," Allen muttered, and said to a random brunnette, "Hey, could you pass that plate, please? Yes, that one. Thank you." Timcampy safely flew into his hood just as the boy sat down with a plate of fresh fruits.

"When we're done eating, would you like to help me find my way back to the Gryffindor Tower?" Allen asked Ginny. "I still learning my way around because all I've been doing was following Harry and the others around."

"Oh, sure," Ginny answered, smiling widely. "Not to worry, Allen!"

It didn't take a while before Allen to finish eating, surprisingly, for he did feel bad to keep the young girl waiting. Despite the slight growling of his stomach, the Exorcist and the witch walked back to their common room together. Unfortunately enough, they had to meet up with Draco Malfoy in the corridors.

"Ha! Weasley's sister's taken a liking in the new creep, I see," the Slytherin taunted. "Why don't you go find yourself a closet, hmm?"

"Shut it, Malfoy!" spat Ginny angrily. "Go away!"

" 'Go away!' " Malfoy imitated. "You should find other ways if you want me to go away, you blood traitor. Is your brother Weasle still hanging with that mudblood? They _do _make a wonderful, lovely couple, don't they?"

"Why, you," Ginny said in a low voice through gritted teeth. "You'll be regretting those-"

"Don't Ginny," Allen said, stopping the girl with his arm. "I'll do it. I don't want girls being so violent, especially since I know Lenalee," he smiled. Turning to the boy named Malfoy, his soft expression turned into one of cold indifference. "I do not enjoy hearing people say bad things about the people I know. I won't hit you, but how's this? I'll challenge you to a game of poker." Allen took out a deck of cards from his pocket. "If I win, you owe Ginny an apology as well as permission for me to swat you away like a fly."

"If you lose?"

"If I lose, you couls taunt Ginny all you want and I wouldn't do a thing about it."

The red haired girl looked shocked. "What? Allen, how could you-?"

"Don't worry, Ginny. Three years of gambling and I haven't lost once these couple of years. And besides, I just _can't_ lose because my life depends on it, mostly," Allen said.

* * *

Author's note: 

Now, Allen can't be good all the time, could he? And I never like Malfoy, so it's about time he pays back for all the times he's gotten on Harry, Ron, and Hermione's nerves!


	7. Allies In War

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Seven: Allies In War

* * *

**Disclaimers: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

"Call." 

Draco Malfoy stared at the cards Allen Walker placed on the tile floor. Ginny Weasley, sitting next to the white haired boy, gaped with her mouth wide open. The two of them whispered in horror, "A royal flush..."

_How is this possible?_ Malfoy thought in panic._ I was dealing him bad cards, and he still wins!_

Allen, meanwhile, smiled innocently at him. Malfoy, being the sore loser he was, grabbed the cards and began shuffling. "One more game," he insisted.

"Fine with me," Allen shrugged.

"I won't lose this time," Malfoy said stubbornly.

It was thirty minutes after the above conversation when Allen and Ginny walked into the Gryffindor common room, laughing and looking quite pleased. Ron, seeing his sister with another boy, jumped up from where he was doing homework with Hermione and Harry. "Ginny, what are you doing?" he asked, eyeing Allen with suspicion and what Allen hope wasn't anger and disgust.

"I was showing Allen the way back from the Great Hall," Ginny answered, still smiling happily and laughing slightly.

"And how does that result in you two walking in, laughing your heads off and getting so...so..." Ron said, his voice trailing off as he searched for a word.

Allen scratched his head. "We were playing Poker with that boy, Malfoy," he said, "because he wasn't saying the most pleasant things about you and Ginny."

From the table where he was, Harry scoffed. "Really? That's a first," he said sarcastically. "When _hasn't _Malfoy said something that wasn't pleasant?"

"Judging from the way he acted, never," Allen replied calmly. "He owed Ginny an apology and I wanted to hit him badly, so gambled that. If I won, he apologizes and I hit him; if he won, he does as he wishes and I don't do anything."

Ron looked affronted. "You mean you risked the chance of allowing Malfoy to harrass my sister freely? You're a monster!" he yelled.

"Hey, Ron, Allen's not like that," Lavi said, appearing beside the red headed boy suddenly. "Allen wouldn't gamble anything like that if he wasn't confident he'd win, and trust me, Allen could never lose."

Lenalee peered over Lavi's shoulder at Ron and explained, "Before we met him, he used to travel with a friend"- Allen rolled his eyes- "of his, and that person was horrible with handling money. To pay back all their debts, Allen had to work or gamble, and over the years he became impossible to defeat."

Ron still looked doubtful. "What happened? The game, I mean..." he said to his sister.

"If Allen lost, we wouldn't be laughing," Ginny answered. "He was so strong, Ron! Malfoy and he played ten games and he won all of them!"

"Really?"

"Yes, and he's the unluckiest boy in our group," Lavi said, wrapping his arm around Allen's shoulder. "But he's skilled. He's a pro at cheating!"

Ginny paused for a moment, and then burst into laughter once more. "Oh my God, no matter you were so good," she said cheerfully. "Thanks for winning though, Allen. It felt so refreshing watching Malfoy fly all the way down the hall."

Lenalee glanced at Allen in question, and the boy said, "I activated my Innocence, but I made sure to hit Malfoy before he saw anything, so it's okay. Timcampy was bothering with the hood on his robe. And plus, it was Ginny who was with me. Her whole family's in with teh Order of the Phoenix. Not that she saw anything, either, anyways."

"Allen, you risk so much all alone," Lenalee sighed.

The boy laughed nervously. "Well, I got to run, Lenalee. I promised Umbridge I'd go get my homework, and it's better if I stay on her good side!"

"Oh, don't worry Allen," replied the Chinese Exorcist. "I told her I'd give her the homework assignment when I see you, so there's no need to go see her. But it was so wild in her class today. Harry's been in a glum mood ever since."

Allen raised his eyebrow and looked over at the grumbling boy. Harry was hunched over his roll of parchent with a quill in hand, and he shook his head every time Hermione tried to talk to him. He brushed his black bangs out of his eyes and said, "It's alright, Hermione, I'll do it myself."

Hermione nodded reluctantly and went back to writing her report. Allen didn't know what class she was doing that for, whether it was Snape's or Binns', but at the moment his eyes were glued to Harry's forehead, where he saw...

"Hey, Harry," Allen said, prying himself out from under Lav's arm. He approached the table (out of the corner of is eye he saw Hermione fidget) and peered at Harry. "What's that?"

Harry put down his quill, looking quite glad to have an excuse to get away from it. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

Allen scratched his head. "Um, excuse me," he said, and he reached over to lift Harry's bangs with his 'normal' right hand, shoving his left hand into his coat lest Hermione might see it (he didn't want people to ask too many questions about its red color and scaliness). "This scar, what happened? It's a rather...strange shape, isn't it?"

Harry, Hermione, and Ron's eyes were all on Allen, their faces doubting, confused, and surprised. Harry, being the first to recover from the silence, asked, "You don't know?"

"I don't really spy on people, you see," Allen replied, taking away his hand, and the shock of jet black hair fell back to cover the lightning shaped scar.

"But," Ron squeaked, "_everyone _knows why Harry has his scar!"

Lenalee and Lavi walked up to the group and looked at Harry. "We don't," Lavi said. "We don't know anything about Harry Potter other than that he's in Gryffindor-"

"-and whatever else Professor Dumbledore told us," Lenalee finished.

Harry glanced from Exorcists to Exorcist, as if to judge whether or not they were telling the truth. In the end, he sighed and said, "Follow me, I don't want to talk about in the common room because people will start talking again."

"Talk?" Allen repeated.

Ginny skipped over and grabbed her brother's sleeve. "Ron, could I come with you?"

"What? Ginny-"

Lenalee put her hands on the younger girl's shoulders. "Please let her come with us," she pleaded, "and Lavi, could you go get the twins?"

Harry looked apprehensive. "Why do you want them to come as well?" he asked.

"Because," Allen answered, "judging from the way things went for us this afternoon when I left Umbridge's, it's going to be hard getting in and our of here without causing suspicion if we don't have any support from Hogwarts."

"Why would you have to do anything 'cept sit in class all day? You're students like us," Ron said.

"We'll explain that when we get to wherever Harry wants us to go," Lavi stated, leading Fred and George. "So, Captain, where to?"

"The dormitory," the boy pointed to the closed door. "Somehow we'll get everyone out of here."

"Easy thing to do," Fred winked, and George ran over tothe door. Opening it, the twins yelled, "We're going to put Dungbombs in there, so it you don't want to be smelly tomorrow morning you might as well get out of there!"

Several boys dashed out of the room, and by the time Harry and the others slipped in, the dormitory was empty. The twins were beaming with pride at their masterpiece: the empty room, and Lavi grinned back at them as the all sat down on the floor between Lavi's and Allen's beds. "Nobody'll here us here," Ron said, "we're in the very back of the room."

"Nice and comfy," Lavi sighed, leaning back against his bed. Beside him, Lenalee sat with her arms around her knees, looking around.

Allen looked at Harry and went straight to the point, "Sooner or later people will notice that it doesn't smell in here, so we should hurry. Harry, could you explain why you have that scar?"

Harry played with his hair for a moment. He looked up at the three Exorcists and asked, "Do you three know Voldemort?"

While Allen, Lavi, and Lenalee were completely unafected by the name, the others flinched and gasped. Lenalee, ignoring the awkwardness of the moment, nodded. "Dumbledore told us about him."

"Good," Harry muttered. "I wasn't looking forward to explaining his life. Well Voldemort- get over it you lot, it's just a name! Voldemort, he gave me this scar when I was a year old. He tried to kill me after he killed my parents," he said. "It's a curse, basically, but it's more of like a reminder of the curse. It stings a lot now, because Voldemort is back, despite what Umbridge and the otehrs think. I saw him!"

"We don't doubt you," Allen assured. "If Voldemort wasn't back, we wouldn't be here because our job here is to defeat Voldemort."

"Yes," Lavi nodded, "him and our great enemy, the Millennium Earl."

"Who is that?" Fred and George asked. "Is he as bad as You-Know-Who?"

"And why are you here? You said your job was to defeat You-Know-Who," Hermione added, "but why you? We've got our own forces here."

"And Voldemort has new forces, Akuma," Lenalee answered. "Akuma are made by the Millennium Earl, its materials being human flesh and the soul of a deceased. Great sadness triggers the Dark Matter, the hard substance that makes up the hard surface of the Akuma's boy in its true form. Only we can destroy these Akuma."

"Why not us?" Ginny asked, sounding young and frightened.

Allen, who was sitting next to Ginny, patted her head with a smile. "Let me explain," he said, and so he and the Exorcists told their story. They told the Hogwarts students of the beginning of everything: of the discovery of the Cube and its message of the Earl's plan to destroy the world; of the Black Order and the Noahs, the family who's inherited the genes of Noah; of the Innocence and the Exorcists; of their mission and of the possible alliance between the two evils. When they were finished, Allen and his friends settled to waiting until the shocked expressions on the wizards and witches' faces disappeared. It would take a while for everything to sink in, they'd concluded in their minds.

Harry was staring at Allen's face. The white haired boy sitting across from him looked back at him calmly through warm, gray eyes. It was hard to think that this boy sitting in front of him, who was the same age as him, was destined from the day he was born to fight and live as God's hand on Earth, destined to live a life of death and destruction, and might die from his battles at any time. Sure, Harry might get killed by Voldemort and the Death Eaters, but he at least knew who his enemies were; for Allen, anyone could be his enemy, even the Exorcists with whom he came to Hogwarts.

"You all must be very frightened every day," Hermione whispered. Allen, Lenalee, and Lavi just looked at her with the faintest shadow of sad smiles tugging at their lips. "Aren't you all...saddened? Every time you destroy an Akuma..?"

"The souls of an Akuma are crying," Allen replied quietly, closing his eyes.

"What?" Ron said. "How do you know?"

"Allen's the only one who can tell an Akuma from a human," Lavi explained. "His left eye...it can see the soul of an Akuma."

Harry gulped. "Is it a curse?" he asked.

Allen opened one eye and peered at him. After a moment of silence, he said, "Yes. I got cursed by my father."

The silence that followed Allen's words was eerie. Lenalee and Lavi had known how their friend had gotten cursed, but hearing it again was still upsetting, and to Harry and his friends, it was impossible to imagine a father cursing his own son. Ginny touched Allen's arm and said, "Why?"

The boy answered, "Because I turned him into an Akuma."

Ron was seething. "And _that_ give him the right to curse you?" he demanded, completely oblivious to the space -or lack of it- between Allen and his younger sister, not that that would bring any harm at all. "That is not fair!"

"This curse has helped me more than damned me," Allen replied. "I don't know why exactly Mana cursed me, but I've adapted."

"But it must be hard on you," Ginny said.

Lavi muttered. "Allen's eye affected mine once and I saw an Akuma's soul. I couldn't eat for three weeks! He's lived with that eye for- what? Three years?"

"It's the reason I exist, really, destroying Akuma and bringing salvation to lost souls," Allen said. "Akuma are pitiful things. I have to destroy them, but to do so, I must get rid of all the sadness in the world. But a world without sadness is but a dream, so I must defeat the Earl, the manufaturer of Akuma."

"Unfortunately enough," Lenalee sighed, "the Earl decided that your world, one hundred years ahead of ours, was the easiest place to attack because you guys don't have any Exorcism going on, and the Black Order doesn't exist here either."

"And from what we heard about Harry's parents and his scar, your villian Voldemort isn't the nicest guy in the world, is he?" Lavi asked.

"He's killed a lot of people," Hermione affirmed. "Tens of people, maybe even hundreds..."

"He's after Harry's life right now," George said, "but he can't attack right now because Harry's with Dumbledore, the only wizard You-Know-Who's ever feared. And Dumbledore's part of the Order of the Phoenix, the order that's fighting against You-Know-Who..."

"The Order Dumbledore told us to depend on," Allen said to Lavi, who nodded. The Exorcists all exchanged looks of question with each other and stood up, Lenalee standing in the center. Ginny, looking surprised, shuffled on her knees towards Harry.

"Um," Fred said awkwardly, "what're you all doing?"

Lenalee smiled and held out her hand. "I am Lenalee Lee, assistant Head Officer of the Black Order Headquarters. Our chief, Head Officer Komui Lee and Exorcists, Allen Walker, Yu Kanda, Miranda Lotto, Arystar Krory, Lavi, and I, would like to request your alliance to fight this war for the world against the Millennium Earl and Lord Voldemort," she said, her voice business like, yet friendly. She and the two Exorcists behind her stood straight and looked at Harry with expectation. "Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Ginny, Fred, and George Weasley, will you accept our request?"

An alliance. A war. Harry'd known how important it was to defeat Voldemort, but hearing those words and the seriousness in the girl's voice, Harry realized for the first time how much defeating Voldemort meant, not only to him, but to the world; how much defeating the Millennium Earl meant to the Exorcists. He shook his head to clear it and saw that allof his friends were looking at him. There was determination in their eyes as they nodded. Another jolt of realization hit Harry: now that the ancient evil, Millunnium Earl, was here and possibly on Voldemort's side, there was no way the Order of the Phoenix and he alone could defeat the murderer of countless wizards and witches; they needed the help of the Exorcists. He nodded back and stood up, facing Lenalee and her friends. He took the girl's hand. "I accept, no, _we _accept your request, Lenalee. I hope we can defeat both our enemies hand in hand," he said.

* * *

Author's Note:

I had a question for Chapter 6, so here's my answer-

**Q:** I thought malfoy didn't gamble?

**A: **To tell the truth I don't think he does either. He just didn't like Allen talking to him the way he did, especially since Allen was defending Ginny, who Malfoy thought as a bloodtraiting scum.


	8. A Peaceful Second Day

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Eight: A Peaceful Second Day

* * *

**Disclaimers: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

The following day was as dark and depressing as the one before. Harry, Ron, and Hermione felt their hopes for Hagrid's return vanish with one glance at the staff tabl; the giant still hadn't returned. They sat down at the Gryffindor table and Ron said in an attempt to cheer himself up, "But on the plus side, no Snape today." 

Yawning, Hermione poured herself some coffee. She looked pleased about something, and Ron asked her what she was so happy about. The girl simply said, "The hats have all gone. Seems the house elves do want freedom after all."

Ron shook his head, "I wouldn't bet on it. They might not count as clothes. They didn't look anything like hats to me, more like woolly bladders."

Hermione shot him a look and didn't say another word.

The Exorcists, Allen, Lenalee, and Lavi squeezed into the small space left on the table. They all had different, interesting expressions on their faces: Allen growled and sat down with a sour, irritated look as his pet Timcampy hid in his hood; Lenalee was trying desperately to calm him him down, looking to be on swaying between the line between exasperation and annoyance; Lavi kept glancing at the Ravenclaw table with an amused smirk.

"Come on Allen, don't let Kanda get to you."

"Why does he keep calling me that name?"

"What, 'Moyashi'? Come on, it's cute. What would I be, 'Ninjin'? It matches my hair, anyways."

"My name is _Allen_! I'm not a vegetable!"

"Allen, calm down, please! And you too, Lavi, stop adding fuel to his flame!"

The boys settled and the white haired Exorcist helped himself to a stack of toast as his red haired friend reached over and grabbed himself a couple of bagels. Lenalee sighed and said, "Hermione, could you pass me that coffee?"

"What were you guys doing?" Harry asked. "And why is Allen so mad?"

"Few called 'im Mufashi 'gain," Lavi answered, his mouth stuffed with breakfast.

"Excuse me?" Ron said.

Lavi swallowed hard. "Yu called Allen 'Moyashi' again," he said. "He's been doing that ever since Allen became one of us."

"That noodle-brain doesn't get it that my name is not Moyashi," Allen grumbled, wolfing down his toast and everything else he could reach until the other Gryffindors snatched away the plates. The boy put down his fork and sighed. "I just don't get how that girl could like him."

Lenalee giggled. "I don't think she likes him. She's just trying to make him feel welcome, seeing as the prefects and the Heads are busy chatting with Komui," she said, "and she must be doing a good job at it too, that Cho Chang. Kanda wasn't ignoring her at all, in fact, he seemed to like talking to her."

"I sometimes don't understand how Kanda's mind works," Allen said. "Actually, I _never_ understand."

"Ah, cut him some slack, Allen boy," Lavi said, patting his friend's back. "Kanda has people problems, sure, but he's a good guy at heart."

"Cho was talking to your friend?" Harry asked, feeling something hot boiling in his stomach. He heard gruffness in his own voice.

Allen looked surprised. "Yes," he answered, "she was. She's pretty, isn't she?" As if in response, Lavi whistled loudly. Ron and Hermione glanced at Harry, who just nodded and fell silent.

"We better get going," Hermione said hastily, glancing at her watch. "Flitwick's class starts in less than ten minutes, come on!"

Lavi stood up from the bench. "And I'd better get going too. Gotta go spy on Yu during class," he winked. "See you later, Allen, Lenalee."

During double Charms, Allen and Lenalee were given wands by the dwarfy teacher, Flitwick. For the first fifteen minutes when Flitwick squeaked about the importance of the O.W.L.s, Timcampy grabbed Allen's wand and started playing with it, accidentally sending bright red sparks at the top of a Hufflepuff boy's head, singing a straight line through his dark buzzcut. Allen panicked and hid both golem and wand in his coat. Lenalee stifled a giggle and waved nervously as the boy spun around in anger and surprise, and the boy blushed madly before turning back around.

The next class, double Transfiguration, was the same, if not worse. The strict looking teacher, McGonagall, from sorting night was their teacher, and Allen couldn't help but be reminded of the disapporoving glare she had given him. She stared at her class through calculating eyes and began her own speech.

"You cannot pass an O.W.L. without serious application, practice, and study. I see no reason why everybody in this class should not achieve an O.W.L. in Transfiguration as long as they put in the work," she said, and Neville Longbottom sniffed disbelievingly. "Yes, you too, Longbottom," McGonagall snapped. "There's nothing wrong with your work except lack of confidence. So...today, we are starting Vanishing Spells. These are easier than Conjuring Spells, which you do not usually attempt until N.E.W.T. level, but they are still among the most difficult magic you will be tested on in your O.W. L."

"This _is _hard," Lenalee muttered, trying to make her snail vanish and accidentally poking it. Allen, meanwhile managed to vanish everything but the shell. Apparently, Allen hat more magic in him than he had patience and concentration, which was what Lenalee was skilled in doing.

"Really?" Allen said, and made another attempt. This time, to his surprise, the snail disappeared altogether. "Hey, look Lenalee! I did it!"

"_How _did you do that, Allen?" Ron whined. His snail, as well as Harry's, was sitting innocently on the desk. Hermione's had vanished as well.

McGonagall walked swifly up to Hermione and said, "Good job, Miss Granger, as usual. You are a very intelligent student. Oh! My, you too Mr. Walker?" She looked wide-eyed surprised at the empty space on Allen's desk. She cleared her throat, "I'll grant Gryffindor ten points bonus," she clapped her hands once. "Class in over in five minutes! Homework: practice the spell overnight, and come back afresh tomorrow afternoon. We will be practicing Vanishing Charms again! Miss Granger and Mr. Walker are excused from the assignment."

"I'll _never _get all this homework done," Ron whined the moment they were out of the classroom for lunch.

"We'll study in the library," Harry suggested, looking hopefully at Hermione, but she ignored him.

"Only us? Come on, Harry, you know that's hopeless."

Allen and Lenalee grinned at each other. "We'll come with you," Allen said. "Surprisingly enough, I'm not that hungry right now, and I could help you all with that spell from Transfiguration and Charms."

"We do owe you for being such good guides, anyway," Lenalee shrugged. "I finished my report on moonstone already; you could use it if you need to. And for Binns too. As for Divination, I made some things up because I never remember my dreams."

By the end of lunch, Harry and Ron had finished their report for Snape and were halfway through Binns'. Harry kept rubbing his forehead, and he looked especially tired as they went to Care of Magical Creatures. The class took place outside, right by the area where Allen had fought the two Akumas. Luckily enough, somebody had restored the damaged grass, so none of the students noticed. The teacher, Grubby-Plank stood waiting, and as the group made their way towards her, a loud shout of laughter erupted.

Allen turned and saw Draco Malfoy, surrounded by a gang of Slytherins, striding towrds them. They were all sneaking glances at Harry, who glared right back, and Allen realized that whatever the Slytherin's had been laughing about, it had something to do with Harry, and whatever they said wasn't anything nice or pleasant.

"Mr. Malfoy," Allen called, putting his hand in his pocket and pulling out a deck of cards. "You do remember what happened the last time you made fun of a friend of mine?"

The boy's pale face turned chalk white, and he promptly led his cronies away from Allen. Harry smiled at Allen gratefully.

"Everyone here?" the teacher barked. "Let's crack on then- who can tell me what these things are called?"

Hermione's hand shot into the air, while most other students were staring at the twigs in confusion. Behind her, Malfoy did a buck-toothed imitation of her jumping up and down in eagerness to answer a question. A Slytherin girl shrieked in laughter, and the laughter turned into a scream as the twigs on the table leaped into the air. They looked like tiny pixies made of wood, with knobby arms and lefs, two twiglike fingers at the end of each hand, and a funny, flat, barklike face with a pair of beetle brown eyes. A couple girls Allen recognized as Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown squealed with delight, and Harry looked grim.

"Kindly keep your voices down, girls!" Grubby-Plank said sharply. She threw what looked like brown rice on the table, and the twig like creatures immediately attacked and started eating them. "So- anyone know the names of these creatures? Miss Granger?"

"Bowtruckles," Hermione answered. "They're tree guardian, usually live in wand trees."

"Five points for Gryffindor," said Grubby-Planl. "Yes, these are bowtruckles, and as Miss Granger rightly says, they generally live in trees whose wood is of wand quality. Anybody know what they eat?"

"Wood lice," Lenalee said. "But fairly eggs if they can get them."

"Good girl, take another five points. So whenever you need leaves or wood from a tree in which a bowtruckle lodges, it is wise to have a gift of wood lice ready to distract or placate it," Grubby-Plank told the class. "They may not look dangerous, but if angered they will gouge out human eyes with their fingers, which, are you can see, are very sharp and not at all desirable near the eyeballs. So if you'd like to to gather closer, take a few wood lice and a bowtruckle- I have enough here for one between three- you can study them more closely. I want a sketch form each of you with all body parts labeled by the end of the lesson."

Allen and Lenalee walked up to Ron and Hermione, who said, "We can make a group of five. We don't mind."

"Where's Harry?" Lenalee asked.

"Don't know," Ron answered. "Come on, let's go get a bowtruckle."

It was after they had chosen a shady area and put their bowtruckle on the ground when Harry reappeared. He sat down and pulled out a parchment and his quill and crouched down. "Malfoy might know something about Hagrid," he stated. "He said that Hagrid might be involved with something that's big..._gigantic._"

Ron looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What's bigger than _Hagrid?"_ he asked.

Hermione shot him a look. "Dumbledore would know if something happened to Hagrid," she said. "It's just playing into Malfoy's hands to look worried, it tells him we don't know exactly what's going on. We've got to ignore him, Harry. Here, hold the bowtruckle for a moment, just do I can draw its face..."

Harry picked up the creature and held it out for his friends to see, but at the same time, Malfoy's drawl seeped into his ears like oil.

"Yes," the voice said loudly, "Father was talking to Minister just a couple of days ago, you know, and it sounds as thought the Ministry's really determined to crack down on substandard teaching in this place. So even if that overgrown moron _does _show up again, he'll probably be sent packing straight away."

"OUCH!" Harry yelled.

Allen looked up from his finished drawing and saw Harry gripping his hand, blood flowing from two deep gaashes in his finger. The two large boys who were with Malfoy rolled on the ground in laughter as the angry bowtruckle dashed of towards the forest. "Are you okay, Harry?" Allen asked.

The bell rang loudly over the grounds, and Harry rolled up his bloodstained bowstruckle picture. Hermione handed him her handkerchief, and they all followed Harry to Herbology.

"If he calls Hagrid a moron one more time..." Harry said angrily.

"Harry, don't go picking a row with Malfoy, don't forget, he's a prefect now, he could make life difficult for you..."

"Wow, I wonder what it'd be like to have a difficult life?" Harry replied sarcastically.

Herbology class took place in a greenhous on the other side of the vegetable patch. As they reached the building, Harry said in a more calm, soft voice, "I just wish Hagrid would hurry up and get back, that's all. And _don't _say that Grubby-Plan woan's a better teacher!"

"I wasn't going to," Hermione said.

"Because she'll never be," Harry said stubbornly.

The door of the greenhouse opened, and a class of fourth years filed out. Ginny, being one of them.

"Hi," she greeted. "Hello Allen," she said quietly. A few seconds after her, a Ravenclaw girl with blond hair tied in a knot walked up to them. "Oh, hi Luna. Allen, Lenalee, meet Luna Lovegood."

"Hello," Allen said. "I've seen you sitting near Kanda sometimes."

The girl ignored him and walked up to Harry, cornering him. "I believe He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back, and I believe you fought him and escaped from him," she said firmly.

"Er-right," Harry said.

"You can laugh!" Luna said at a giggling Parvati and Lavendar, who were pointing at her earrings that looked like radishes, but Allen didn't hear the rest as he entered the greenhouse, hurt from being ignored.

"Allen!" a familiar voice exclaimed, and a tall man immediately latched onto Allen, his arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

"Krory?" Lenalee gasped. "What are _you _doing here?"

"Well," the man said, getting off Allen and looking embarrassed, "I was exploring the grounds this morning when Professor Sprout was carrying some potted man-eaters out of the greenhouses. She looked to be struggling, so I helped her out with that, and then she asked me to help her all day...Professor Dumbledore said Miranda and I could help teachers if we wished, so..."

"Friends, Arystar?" a woman, the teacher, asked. A rather squat lady with a shock of curly hair, she was dirty with mud yet cheerful. She turned to Allen and Lenalee. "Arystar's a natural with plants, a great help he is."

"I'm sure," Lenalee smiled.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Harry, you can do better than _her,_" Hermione said as she walked in with Harry and Ron. "Ginny's told me all about her, apparently she'll only believe in things as long as there's no proof at all. Well, I wouldn't expect anything else from someone whose father runs _The_ _Quibbler."_

Allen and Lenalee looked over at the group as a Hufflepuff prefect approached Harry and annouced clearly, "I want you to know, Potter, that it's only only weirdos who support you. I personally believe you one hundred percent. My family have always stood frim behind Dumbledore, and so do I."

Harry thanked the boy, Ernie Macmillian, awkwardly and walked over looking pleased. He looked at Ron and Hermione and seemed as if wanting to speak, but was interrupted as Professor Sprout began the now familiar O.W.L. lecture. Allen kept poking at his plant during the day, pretending to ask Krory questions while they, and Lenalee, were discussing their mission.

"Two Akuma," Lenalee stated, "it seems so strange. I'd have thought the Earl and Voldemort would send in a whole army."

"It does seem suspicious," Allen agreed, "but if they did, and that soon, we wouldn't have lasted. We're still unfamiliar in this world; who knows if it's different from ours in a way that it gives us a lethal disadvantage?"

Krory looked disappointed. "You could've told _me_, then I would've called Miranda, have her freeze the Akumas' time, and I'd have had a wonderful supper," he said. At his last comment, Allen and Lenalee couldn't hide their disgust.

"Speaking of supper," Allen coughed his throat, "it's almost dinner time. I'm getting hungry..."

Lenalee laughed, then her face dawned an upset look. "And then, for Harry, it's off to detention with Umbridge," she said, glancing at the boy gloomily. "Yesterday when he was arguing with that teacher...poor him. All week."

"I'd switch, but I have an important mission and I don't think using that as an excuse would save my life," Allen sighed.

* * *

Hello readers, 

I apologize for this chapter taking longer than usual to post, but I think it's best if I say that it might take a while to post for the next couple of weeks. I've got a volunteering job to do, and I'll be out all day for those weeks. But I won't take forever on them, so that's nothing to worry about!

And I also got a couple questions for the last chapter:

**Q: **where does this take place on the dgm timeline? is it after the ark?

**A: **This story takes place about a century after the DGM timeline, to be completely honest, but it is no mistake. Well, at first I didn't realize it, but I somehow managed to plan the sotyr so the two timelines would work out.

**Q:** I've always though of poker as a "muggle" game... I can't really imagine Malfoy, with all his blood purity, even knowning the game to be honest... lol

**A: **I am guessing it is, but they have a wizards' chess in the Harry Potter series, and I'm sure that there are many pubs out in the magical world, so I could say that, being in that rich family, Malfoy could've come across some kind of gambling in his life.


	9. Detention With Dolores

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Nine: Detention With Dolores

* * *

**Disclaimers: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

"Food, food!" Allen was cheering as they neared the Great Hall. "I'm _starving_!"

Harry walked quickly in front of eveyone else, eager to shove something in his stomach before he went off to Umbridge's for detention. Just as he was about to enter the large room though, a loud, angry voice yelled, "Oy, Potter!"

"What now?" he groaned, looking longily at the food for a moment before turning to see the angry face of Angelina Johnson, the Gryffindor Quidditch team captain, who was glowering at him murderously.

"I'll tell you what now," she said, toweing over him and poking him hard in the chest. "How come you've landed yourself in detention for five o'clock on Friday?"

"What? Why..." Harry said, raking his brain, and then it hit him, "oh yeah, Keeper tryouts!"

"_Now _he remembers," Angelina moaned, rolling her eyes. "Didn't I tell you I wanted to do a tryout with the _whole team_, and find someone who _fitted in with everyone?_ Didn't I tell you I'd booked the Quidditch pitch specially? And now you've decided you're not going to be there!"

"I didn't decide not to be there!" Harry retorted, feeling hurt and offended. "I got detention from the Unbridge woman, just because I told her the truth about You-Know-Who-"

Angelina wasn't willing to listen. "Well, you can just go straight to her and ask her to let you off on Friday," she said in a final voice, "and I don't care how you do it, tell her You-Know-Who's a figment of your imagination if you like, just _make sure you're there_!" She stamped her foot angrily and stormed away, leaving Harry to gape after her in silent fury.

"You know what?" Harry said to Ron and Hermione as he caught up with them inside the Great Hall. "I think we'd better check with Puddlemere United where Oliver Wood's been killed during a training session, because she seems to be channeling his spirit."

"What d'you reckon are the odds of Umbridge letting you off on Friday?" Ron asked as they sat down. On the other side of the table, the Exorcists sat, one of them eating his dinner like a hungry pig, the other two exchanging stories about their day.

"Less than zero," Harry replied. "Better try, though, hadn't I? I'd offer to do two more detentions or something, I dunno..." Swallowing a mouthful of potato, he added, ""I hope she doesn't keep me too long this evening. You realize we've got to write three essays, practice Vanishing Spells for McGonagall, work out a countercharm for Flitwick, finish the bowtruckle drawing, and start that stupid diary for Trelawney?"

Ron groaned and, looking up at the ceiling, said, "_And _it looks like it's going to rain."

"What's that got to do with our homework?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing," Ron answred quickly.

"I could help you with homework," Allen offered from the table, wiping his mouth clean. "You too, Lenalee?"

"Oh, of course," the girl nodded. "We'll help you with homework when you come back, Harry, not to worry."

"And if Allen's asleep, you could always ask Timcampy to wake him up," Lavi added.

"Oh, please! Not the ear biting again!"

Watching the seventh year redhead poke fun at Allen, and seeing the cute girl giggling happily, Harry smiled. He wondered why, after seeing so many deaths and destruction and tears, these three could stay so cheerful and even have some left to share with others.

Harry bid the others good-bye at five minutes to five and set off down the hall to Umbridge's office. He wondered what she had in store for him as he knocked on her door andher sweet voice answered, "Come in." He entered with caution, looking around for possible danger.

He almost fainted at what he saw.

Harry had seen the office three times, occupied by three different Deense Against the Dark Arts teachers. In second year, Gildroy Lockhart had plastered it with his narcisisstic collection of photographs of himself; third year, Remus Lupin, Harry's godfather's childhood friend, had an office where it was likely anyone entering would encounter an interesting Dark creature in a cage or tank; in fourth year, the ex-Auror, Alastor Moody, had been an imposter, but the room had been packed with instruments and artifacts for detecting Dark magic, wrongdoing, and concealment. But, now occupied by Umbridge, the room looked more like what his neighbor, Mrs. Figg, would be expected to live in. But even her wouldn't've decorated her room this horribly...

Every surface in the room had been draped with lace. There were several potted dried flowers sitting in vases; a collection of ornamental plates decorated with images of technicolor, bowed cats adorned one wall. They made Harry stared at them in appalment until Umbridge spoke again.

"Good evening, Mr. Potter."

Startled, Harry spun around and looked at Umbridge, who was very well concealed as her robes camoflauged with the tablecloth on the desk she stood in front of. "Evening," Harry replied stiffly.

Pointing toward a small table draped in lace, Umbridge told him to sit down. There was a piece of blank parchment, waiting.

"Er, Professor Umbridge?" Harry said, fidgeting. "Er- before we start, I-I wanted to ask you a...a favor."

"Oh yes?" Umbrige asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Well I'm...I'm on teh Gryffindor Quidditch team. And I wa supposed to be at the tryouts for the new Keeper at five o'clock on Friday and I was- was wondering whether I could skip detention that night and do it- do it another night...instead..."

Looking at Umbridge's pleased, aggravating, toady smile that, even before he finished his sentence, his pleading would be of no use.

"Oh no," the teacher cooed. "Oh no, no, no. This is your punishment for spreading evil, nasty, attention-seeking storied, Mr. Potter, and your punishments certainly cannot be adjusted to suit the guilty one's convenience. No, you will come here at five o'clock tomorrow, and the next day, and on Friday too, and you will do your detentions as planned. I think it a rather good thing that you are missing something you really want to do. I ought to reinforce the lesson I am trying to teach you."

Harry gritted his teeth and thought, _Don't lose your head; don't lose you head or it'll make life more difficult, _trying his hardest not to yell at Umbridge and smash in that sneaky, annoying face of hers. So he told nasty, evil, attention-seeking stories. Of course, why should she care that those stories were actually hard, cold fact, that she could do as much denying and disbelieving and hating as she could, but it was going to change the fact that Voldemort was back- and possibly much, much stronger than before with an ancient evil on his side this time.

Umbridge cocked her head to one side, a smile cutting her face cleanly in half, as though she'd read his mind and was expecting him to yell once more so that she could punish him more. Harry wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of letting his temper erupt, and so he sat down with massive effort and unneccesary noise in the hard chair behind the table.

"There," said the teacher in her sugarly voice, "we're getting better at controlling our temper already, aren't we? Now, you are going to be doing some lines for me, Mr. Potter. No, not with your quill," she said hastily as Harry made to open his bag. "You're going to be using a rather special one of mine. Here you are." She handed Harry a long, thin black quill with a very sharp point, so sharp that it was slightly unusual.

"I want you to write, _'I must no tell lies,' _" she said softly.

"How many times?" Harry asked, faking politeness while inside he boiled with the desire to get it through her skull that he was not telling any lies, whatsoever.

"Oh, as long as it takes for the message to _sink in, "_Umbridge answered. "Off you go."

Harry set the quill on the parchement as Umbridge sat down at her desk; he paused. "You haven't given me any ink," he said.

"Oh, yo won't nedd ink," she answered with the faintest hint of a laugh in her voice.

Confused, Harry placed the quill back on the parchment and wrote: _I must not tell lies._

And he gasped, nearly droppingthe quill, as a searing pain shot through his hand. He stared at the parchment; on it, the words had appeared in bright, shining red ink. At the same time, the words had appeared in his hand as a cut, as if an invisible hand a written it there with an equally invisible scapel- and the cut healed immediately. He gawked at Umbridge this time, who was watching him with her broad, toady smile. 

"Yes?" she said innocently.

"Nothing," Harry replied quietly.

Harry went back to writing his lines, and the cut appeared over and over again and again every time he wrote on the paper. He soon realized that the ink wasn't ink, but his own blood. Thoroughly disgusted but unwilling to show his pain, he continued his lines until darkness fell outside the window. He never once asked if he was alloweed to stop, for he felt Umbridge's eyes watching him, waiting for him to show a sign of weakness. _Fat chance, _Harry thought stubbornly, ignoring the pain in his hand. _I'll stay here all night and cut my hand, but I won't ever let you think I'm some weakling liar!_

It seemed as if hours had gone by before Umbridge said, "Come here." Harry stoof up, his stinging hand hanging by his side. The skin was red and raw, and he suppresed a shiver and a shudder as his least favorite teacher took his hand in her chubby fingers on which she wore a number of ugly old rings.

"Tut, tut," she clucked with a smile, "I don't seem to have made much of an impression yet. We'll have to try again tomorrow eening, won't we? You may go."

Silently, Harry left her office without even saying good-night, not that he would have if someone's chained him to a wall, broken his treasured broomstick in half, killed Ron...well, he wasn't _that _heartless, Harry thought with a chuckle, he wouldn't let Ron died just because he was refusing to bid good-night to the world's biggest toad...

But Harry was disapppointed. Despite what Lenalee and Allen'd said during dinner, it was surely past midnight, and he didn't have the heart to wake up a probably slumbering Allen just to practice homework, or Lenalee, just to borrow her notes. He blamed it all on Umbridge, and as he turned the first corner and was sure she couldn't hear him, broke into a run towards the Gryffindor Tower, knowing he should catch some sleep at least, for he didn't expect tomorrow to be any better than the past two days.

In the common room, Allen was snoring away in front of the fireplace, a blanket draped over his rather scrawny figure. Allen was small, Harry noticed, when he wasn't wearing that long coat of his. Despite his job fighting large monsters, the boy was quite skinny and scrawny...

_And still a kid_, Harry thought, _the same age as me._

Harry sat down in the armchair across from the Exorcist and spotted a stack of papers sitting on the table in front of him. In neat, clear handwriting, someone had written a note:

_Dear Harry,_

_If you're reading this, that probably means that Allen had fallen asleep. He said he wouldn't mind if you wake him up, but knowing you, you would rather cram in the morning, right? Hermione insisted I go to sleep (she said something about you and Ron not doing your homework when you had time, but don't mind her, please; she's just saying what she thinks is best), so I had Ron help me copy my notes from Binns, Snape, Sprout, and the other classes. If need be, I had Allen jot down some ideas for your dream diary as well, although I'm sure it's filled with his longing for eating Jeryy's cooking again soon. (Jeryy is the cook at our headquarters, by the way.) I hope these notes would be of some help for you, and good night. See you tomorrow morning._

_Sincerely yours,_

_Lenalee_

Harry looked at the rest of the papers and saw that Lenalee had, indeed, made Ron help her make a copy of her notes. His squiggly handwriting was hard to miss compared to that of Lenalee's, and as she had predicted, Allen had written a lot about the person named Jeryy and his wonderful cooking. Harry looked at the sleeping boy and laughed softly. "Thanks," he whispered, and pulled out his quill and some parchment, determined to get started on his homework.

But his eyelieds drooped. He was so tired. He tried to shake off the fatigue and bent over the parchment, but the next thing he remembered was the sun shining down on his face and Allen shaking him awake gently.

* * *

Hello readers!

First of all, I must confessed I mooched the chapter title from the Harry Potter book, and I do not hold any credit for coming up with it. This chapter was, more or less, just a filler. I wanted to write about Harry gettin frustrated during the day, going back to the common room feeling depressed, and I wanted himto feel eased by Lenalee and Allen's help with homework because...well, I though it'd be nice to have good friends like the Exorcists. Yes, it's just me being me and wanting to put the D. Gray-Man characters in a good light!

Hope you've enjoyed this story so far (it's not done yet!), and thanks for all the support!


	10. I Must Not Tell Lies

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Ten: I Must Not Tell Lies

* * *

**Disclaimers: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

"Urg," Harry groaned, the morning sunlight burning his sleepy eyes," morning, Allen." 

The Exorcist was peering at him with worry. "You went to Umbridge's detention last night, didn't you?" he asked.

Harry grimaced. "Yes, it was _horrible," _he complained.

"Did she make you write lines?" Allen continued.

"Yep. Wait, how do you know?"

Allen seemed to bite his lip and said. "You don't want me telling anyone, do you? You hand..."

Realization hitting him, Harry quickly stuffed his hand inside his pocket; the skin where '_I must not tell lies' _had been cut into his skin stung as it rubbed against the rough fabric of his robe, and he gritted his teeth. "You won't, will you?" he asked quietly. "Hermione won't let me see the end of it, and I don't want her getting into anything messy."

"I won't say a word about it, but I'll find you some anti-pain potions in the library and make something to ease it if it hurts," Allen promised and suggested. "I don't encourage keeping it a secret forever though, if someone finds out, make sure you tell them, alright?"

"Yeah, I will," Harry nodded, and changed the subject as other students began to stumble out of the dormitories. "I couldn't work on my homework last night," he confessed.

Allen shrugged. "I still have something to finish for Binns, so I'll cram with you during breakfast after I drop in at the library for a few minutes. How's that?"

Harry smiled as Ron approached them, yawning widely. "Sure Allen, thanks."

It was midway through breakfast, and Harry nibbled on a piece of toast Allen had brought them as he and Ron sat in the common room finishing as much homework as they could. Allen had finished his report and was currenly sitting in front of a sizzling cauldron by the fireplace, mixing something. He had even offered his finished reports as reference in helping Harry and Ron write

"How come you didn't do it last night?" Harry asked, looking up from his dream diary as Ron gazed around the common room, looking for inspiration. Ron muttered something about "doing other stuff" and bent over his parchment, scribbling a few words.

"He and Timcampy disappeared for a while, then he came back and copied Lenalee's notes, and retired early," Allen aswered for him.

Ron's ears turned pink and he slammed his dream diary shut. "That'll have to do," he said. "I've said I dreamed I was buying a new pair of shoes, she can't making anything weird out of that, can she?"

"Nah, I don't think so, unless it's in _my _dream diary," Harry muttered in response.

Ron snickered without humor and looked over his shoulder at Allen. "What are you making?" he asked.

The Exorcist removed his cauldron from over the fire, poured a flask full of the potion, and muttered, _"Evanesco."_ Shoving his belongings into a bag and swinging it over his shoulder, he used a hook to hang his cauldron from the bag. "Just something I found in a bag. My arm was hurting a bit, so it's a kind of painkiller," he answered offhandedly, and pulled on his coat. "Let's go to Divination now; I'm still a bit tired, and that's the one teacher who doesn't mind me dreaming in her class."

On their way to the North Tower, Ron walked beside Harry as Allen trailed behind, arguing with his golem, Timcampy, about god knows what. Harry's best friend looked at him for a moment or two and said, "How was detention with Umbridge, anyway? What did she make y ou do?"

Harry almost hesitated, but said, "Lines." Behind him, he heard Allen fall silent.

"That's not too bad then, eh?" Ron asked, completely oblivious.

"Nope," Harry said, shaking his head.

"Hey- I forgot- did she let you off for Friday?"

"No," Harry answered, feeling glum as he remembered the nasty way in which the teacher had crushed his hopes. Ron groaned.

The day, as Harry'd predicted the other night, was another nightmare. Since he hadn't had time to practice Vanishing Spells this morning, he was one of the worst in Transfiguration. At lunch, Allen had once again accompanied him in finishing his bowtruckle picture (Allen was one of the only few people done with it, so he had helped draw it.) Harry felt himself drowning in homework, for McGonagall, Grubby-Plank, and Sinistra had given them more that day, and with detention coming up for him again tonight, Harry had no hopes for getting it finished.

"Don't worry, Harry," Allen said, patting his back. "I'll stay in the common room again until you come back. Oh, and take this after detention tonight if she gives you the same assignment," he handed Harry the vial of potion from this morning-, "it's a simple painkiller for cuts like those- I found it in a book in the library this morning- and it relieves stress too. It doens't heal, but it also kills any infections."

Harry took the vial and placed it in a safe place in his pocket. "Thanks Allen, for doing so much..you know," he muttered, feeling strange. Apart from Ron and Hermione, not many people had done for him so many things.

Allen beamed like what he was doing was completely normal. "I don't know if you're famous for being the only one to not get killed by Voldemort, Harry, but to me, Hogwarts is like a second home, and you're my friend. If I don't or can't help him out, then I'll wonder why I'm trying to save the whole world," he said. "Now come on, we got to survive another class after this."

At lunch, the little bit of cheeriness Allen had given Harry dispersed the moment Angelina Johhnson tracked him down at the Gryffindor table during dinner and exploded the moment he informed her that he wouldn't make it top Keeper tryouts on Friday. Furious and unimpressed, she stomped her foot and told him angrily that players wishing to stay on the team should put training first before any other commitments.

When she had stormed off, Harry whipped around to face his now familar group of friends, who had all sat around him during Angelina's one-sided shouting match, and seethed. "I'm in detention," Harry yelled. "D'you think I'd rather be stuck in a room with that old toad or playing Quidditch?"

Hermione looked sympathetic as Harry slumped down on his bench and stared glumly at his steak-and-kidney pie. "At least it's only lines," she said. "It's not as if it's a dreadful punishment, really..."

Harry opened his mouth, closed it, and nodded. He had no real reason, but he didn't want to tell his friends about what exactly was happening in Umbridge's room. Judging from everyone else's expressions, Allen'd kept his promise and hadn't told anyone about it, not that he could have anyway; Allen was with Harry the whole day, in every class, during lunch and breakfast, and right now. Allen's potion nudged Harry in the side from inside his pocket, reminding him of the young Exorcist's loyalty as a friend.

"I can't believe how much homework we've got," Ron said miserably, and Lavi stuck out his tongue in agreement. Apparently, N.E.W.T. students got a bit more homework than O.W.L.s, and to Lavi, who was unfamiliar to magic, it was probably more than the pile of documents Komui usually dealt with at the Black Order headquarters (Allen had sometimes spoken of Komui's office, which was littered permanently with files and piles of paper).

"Well, why didn't you do any last night?" Hermione asked. "Where were you anyway?"

"I was...I fancied a walk," Ron fidgeted. Lenalee sent the boy a knowing look, and Harry oddly felt relieved when he got a slight feeling that he wasn't the only one hiding something.

"Oy, Moyashi, Lavi, Lenalee," a gruff, irritated voice said. Harry swore he saw a vein pop in Allen's temple, and the other two Exorcists greeted Kanda pleasantly. The Japanese Exorcist leaned over the table between Hermione and Ron and whispered something. Sending Harry a look that Harry couldn't read, he straightened and walked off, following Krory, Miranda, and Komui out of the Great Hall.

"What was that?" Hermione asked as Allen, Lenalee, and Lavi stood up swiftly, the first who was stuffing the last of an apple into his mouth. Timcampy hopped onto Allen's head where it sat still.

"Gotta go," Lavi said, distracted.

"Important meeting, you see," Lenalee added.

"Good night, you guys, and Harry, I'll make sure to be back and awake tonight!" Allen called as the three of them rushed out of the large hall.

At detention that night, Harry was too confused by the Exorcist's sudden departure from dinner to really care about the ever-increasing pain in his hand as he wrote an endless list of _'I must not tell lies'_ on a blank piece of parchment. But by the time Unbridge released him, the skin was red and raw, and Harry got the feeling it would soon stop healing over so completely. He said, "Good night," and closed the door behind him. He swallowed Allen's potion to relieve the pain, and was glad at how well it worked.

When he returned to the common room, Allen was nodding off, but awake as he had promised. In his lap he held a black notebook, and on the table in front of him he had a small pail of snails and other critters, several textbooks, and another small pile of parchment that Harry realized were copies of Hermione's and Lenalee's notes from today's classes.

The Exorcist greeted him with a sleepy smile, but stayed awake the whole time Harry worked on his homework, helping him patiently and refusing when Harry told him he should go to bed. When Harry finally finished with Snape's moonstone essay, it was half past two and Allen had his head on a comfortable cushion, but he diligently accompanied him through McGonagall's questions in Transfiguration, Grubby-Plank's 'The Proper Handling of Bowtruckles' essay. Afterwards, they both staggered up to their beds and fell asleep the moment they collasped on the covers, fully clothed.

Thursday, Allen gave Harry another vial of potion (Allen had bags under his eyes, and told him good-naturedly that he had woken up at five to work on the potion, and that he had several more vials stashed away in his trunk). All throughout the day, Harry was ading in and out of consciousness, and so did Ron, although he wondered why he should be. Luckily, there wasn't as much homwork, so, at ten minutes to five, Harry insisted Allen went to sleep and didn't wait for him to return.

Two hours through Harry's third detention with Umbridge, though, the words in the back of his hand ceased to fade and heal, and oozed droplets of blood through the still-open cut. Harry stopped his writing and gazed tiredly at the blood, transfixed and dazed. He was jolted out of his grogginess when Umbridge suddenly touched his hand, and it took every once of self-control in Harry's body to stop himself from jerking his hand away.

"Ah," the teacher gave a satisfied sigh. "Good. That ought to serve as a reminder to you, oughtn't it? You may leave for tonight.

"Do I still have to come back tomorrow?" Harry asked, hoping against hope that she would say no. But it certainly wasn't so.

"Oh, yes," Umbridge said, smiling. "Yes, I think we can etch the message a little deeper with another evening's work."

_She's evil,_ Harry thought hatefully as he climed the stairs to the seventh floor, _she's an evil, twisted, mad old-_

His train of thought was cut off when a flash of red hair appeared around a corner, and he almost bumped into a tall boy. "Ron?" Harry said. The boy gave a great leap of shock and hid the new broomstick, the Cleansweep Eleven his mother had given himfor becoming a prefect, behind his back.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked as a shadow moved overhead and Lenalee jumped down form the top of a statue.

"Er-nothing," Ron saif, stumbling on his tongue. "What are _you _doing?"

Harry frowned, then looked at Lenalee, who flushed and turned away quickly. "Come on!" he said, trying not to laugh, fingering the vial in his pocket and wishing he'd taken the painkiller sooner, "you can tell me! What are you hiding here for?"

Ron glanced nervously form Lenalee to Harry, and said, "I'm- I'm hiding from Fred and George, if you must know. They just went past with a bunch of first years, I bet they're testing stuff on them again, I mean, they can't do it in the common room now, can they, not with Hermione there." He was rambling, and it raised Harry's curiosity more.

"But what have you got your broom for, you haven't been flying, have you?" Harry asked.

"I- well" -Ron looked at Lenalee, who sent him a sharp look and nodded- "well, okay, I'll tell you, but don't laugh, all right?" Ron said, sounding defensive and turning a brighter red with every word. "I- I though I'd try out for Gryffindor Keeper now I've got a decent broom. There. Go on. Laugh." He looked at Harry firmly.

Harry momentarily forgot the pain in his hand. He looked back at Ron and said, "I'm not laughing." Ron blinked, and Harry suppressed the urge to laugh at that. "It's a brilliant idea! It'd be really cool if you got on the team! I've never seen you play Keeper, are you good?"

Lenalee was smiling, and Ron flushed deeper, but seemed pleased. "Charlie, Fred, and George always made me Keep for them when they were training during the holidays," he said.

"So you've been practicing tonight?" Harry asked, feeling excited. He looked at the girl Exorcist. "What's Lenalee doing here?"

"Helping me practice...Every evening since Tuesday...just on my own, though, until yesterday night when she found me flying. I'd fallen and she caught me before I hit the ground," Ron explained. "I've been trying to bewitch Quaffles to fly at me, but it hasn't been easy and I don't how much use it'll be, but tonight Lenalee was helping me and throwing the balls at me when I blocked...Fred and George are going to laugh themselves stupid when I turn up for the tryouts. They haven't stopped taking the mickey out of me since I got made a prefect," he groaned.

"Don't say that, Ron," Lenalee said hastily. "You caught almost every ball I threw at you. Anyways, it's getting late. Why don't we all go back to the common room now and get some sleep? I'm going to make sure you go to that tryout tomorrow, Ron, and you need to be in good condition-no sleepiness."

"I wish I was going to be there," Harry said bitterly as they set off for Gryffindor Tower.

"Yeah, so do- Harry, what's that on the back of your hand?"

Harry stopped in the middle of scratching his nose with his right hand and tried to hide it when he remembered the results of detention. "It's just a cut- it's nothing- it's-" he stuttered, hie left hand digging around for the potion as his hand began to burn again.

Ron was quicker, and grabbed Harry's hand firmly. Lenalee and he looked hard at the cut, reading the words carved on his hand, and then Ron released Harry, his freckled face now white with disgust. Lenalee looked about as shocked as he.

"I thought you said she was giving you lines?"

Harry considered lying again, but Ron had been honest with him, and besides, what kind of excuse was there for words carved into skin in perfect cursive handwriting? He told Ron and Lenalee the truth about Umbridge's detention, and made a mental note to himself to tell Allen he needn't hide anything anymore.

"That old hag!" Ron hissed angrily as the three of them stopped in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady. "She's sick! Go to McGonagall, say something!"

"No," Harry said defiantly. "I'm not giving her the satisfaction of knowing she's got to me."

Lenalee looked at him in revolt. "_Got to you?" _she repeated in disbelief. "You can't let her get away with his!"

"I don't know how much McGonagall's got over her," Harry said, feeling weak and lame.

"Dumbledore then, tell Dumbledore!" Ron wasn't giving up.

Harry sighed. "No."

"Why not?" Lenalee asked.

"He's got enough on his mind," Harry reasoned, feeling disloyal for lying once again. He wasn't going to go ask Dumbledore for help. The last time the headmasterhad spoken to him was last June, at the end of fourth year...

"Well, I reckon you should-" Ron began stubbornly.

"Are you going to give me the password or will I have to stay awake all night waiting for you to finish your conversation?" the Fat Lady interrupted.

Lenalee must have seen teh topin as closed: Harry wasn't going to tell anyone other than them. "_Mimbulus mibletonia," _she said, and they all walked in as the trapdoor swung open.

* * *

Hello readers! I found that there was a comment about chapter 8/9. 

**Q: **Krory won't say anything about wanting to "eat" Akuma. Crowley has this "mwahahah BLOOD" thing on his vampire-mode, but never on his normal mode. He is attracted to Akuma's blood, but he doesn't treat it like meals - it's just fuel, energy for his Innocence. And even if he did think so - he wouldn't say it in front Allen and Lenalee. Again, because he's well-educated and shy.

**A:** When Krory talked about having Akuma for supper, he meant drinking their blood for an energy-boost, not literally chomping down. I'm sorry if that caused a confusion there. And about saying it in front of Allen and Lenalee, I've read the manga in Japanese up to volume 11, and in the later chapters he'd said something that reminded Allen of a bloodthirsty beast (although that was when Krory was already in his fiesty Exorcist mode, after he drinks blood), so I just put that in. And I noticed that the glomping thing was a bit OOC, so I think I'll pay attention to that from now on...or just blame it on some plants.

And to all reviewers, thank you so much for all your comments! They've encouraged me, and I'm sure that this story will turn out great, and for that I thank everyone's comments, that is helping me make this story better with every chapter!


	11. The New Gryffindor Keeper

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Eleven: The New Gryffindor Keeper

* * *

**Disclaimers: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

"_You knew about Harry's detention?"_ Lenalee exclaimed at breakfast on Friday morning. 

Allen cowered under her murderous glare and felt Timcampy hide in his hood. "I did know, Lenalee," he said, holding up his hands in defense, "but Harry told me he didn't want anyone else to know, so I couldn't say anything."

"But you knew," Lenalee said flatly, lowering her voice as people were staring at them.

"Since Wednesday morning," Allen said back. "I made him pain killing potion on Wednesday and Thursday."

The Exorcists ate the rest of their breakfast in silence. Allen saw Harry enter the Great Hall at one point, glance at the staff table, and sit down heavily beside him.

Sitting in class that day, Allen pondered why the week had felt so long. Sure, the past couple days he'd stayed up late and woken up early helping Harry and Ron with their homework, and that meeting with Dumbledore and Komui hadn't brought the best of news, and his own homework never helped, either. During the day, Allen snuck another vial of potion into Harry's hand, and then, when Harry went off to detention for hopefully the last time, Lenalee dragged him off to the Quidditch field for the Keeper tryouts. Ron was trying out for the position, and Lenalee needed assistance in keeping the Slytherins, who were bound to be there, from ruining everything for Ron.

The Quidditch field was like the Roman colloseum, Allen thought. Tiny dots gathered on the grass below, and a group of Slytherins were sitting in the stands jeering. Lenalee and he picked a seat several rows away from them, and Allen pulled out his wand, as did Lenalee, who for some reason was quite good at casting curses (Allen got the feeling he had Lavi, Fred, and George to blame for that.)

Tryouts began after a few minutes, and the Slytherins seemed tense with the anticipation for a chance to start booing at the Gryffindors. Lenalee pointed out a couple of students as good flyers, Vicky Frobisher and Geofrey Hooper, but said she certainly wouldn't want them on the team.

"That Hooper whines a lot in the common room- look, he's doing it now- and Vicky, I heard, is in a lot of clubs, and I also heard she wouldn't join the Quidditch team if practice clashes with Charms club.."

Sooner or later, it was Ron's turn, and Draco Malfoy, at the center of the Slytherin group, started to call him nasty names. Allen, getting annoyed immediately, shot red sparks at the girl Malfoy was flirting with and made her squawk. Lenalee sent a curse in Malfoy's direction, making mushrooms sprout atop his head. The Slytherins turned around and glared threateningly at them, but Malfoy must have remembered his poker game with Allen, for his pale face flushed pink and he turned away. The Slytherins stayed silent for the rest of tryouts. Unfortunately though, Ron's turn had already gone by while the Exorcists were getting rid of the nuissance.

"Oh man," Allen groaned. "We missed it."

"Let's hope he makes it," Lenalee said, looking just as disappointed. She stood up and said, "Come on, we'll meet Ron down outside on the grass.

It was about twenty minutes later. Several Gryffindors came out either crying in frustration, seething, or seeming pleased. Allen felt his heart thudding in anticipation, as if _he _was the one who'd tried out for Keeper. Judging from the way Lenalee grasped her hand tightly in a prayer against her chest, so did she. Ron still hadn't come out yet. It was getting cold, darker, and Allen couldn't wait until the suspicion ended. He was just about to stand up and march into the team dressing room when a tall red haired boy, followed by two cheering redheads, dashed out of the room and ran towards them.

It was Ron, and he was smiling. Allen felt his heart beat faster, and Lenalee appeared beside him.

"I made it!" Ron cheered, coming to a halt in front of them. His freckled face glowed. "I can't believe it! I'm the new Gryffindor Keeper!"

Lenalee gasped, and her voice cracked. "Oh my, Ron, you _did it!_ I'm so happy for you!" she said, and sounded as if she was going to cry.

"Good job, Ron," Allen said, patting the boy's head, or forehead, since he couldn't reach it easily. Instead, it was Timcampy who perched atop Ron's head and congratulated him silently.

"Thanks, guys," Ron sniffed. "Man, I can't wait to tell Harry!"

Fred and George both put their arms around their little brother's neck. "How's this, mate, we throw a big party for you?" one twin asked. "Sneak some food from the kitchen, get some of our joke explosives go off," the other suggested.

"You'd do that?" Ron said. He seemed to happy to remember much of his prefect duties and about not setting off explosives.

"Sure thing," Allen said before the twins could say it was a joke. "We'll throw one big party for you, and Harry could be surprised."

It was nearly nine o'clock. Lavi and Allen stood, side by side, watching as Lenalee floated overhead, stringing glittering red ribbon across the ceiling. The Gryffindor common room was their masterpiece, and the other Gryffindors, too, smiled proudly at the magnificently decorated room.

As promised, Fred and George brought armloads of food from the kitchen, and several fifth years had hung a banner on the wall that said in large fancy letters: _Congratulations Ron! New Gryffindor Keeper! _Ron swore it reminded him of how Mrs. Weasley had celebrated his and Hermione's becoming prefects. Allen, with help from Lavi, was draping bright red and gold tableclothes on the largest tables in the common room, allowing Hermione to study at on of the smaller ones. Timcampy flew around happily, and one second year exclaimed that he was a perfect Snitch-alike and that he'd make the perfect decoration for Ron's party. Allen, amused, laughed with Lavi at the exclamation.

"Alright," Lavi called out to the room, "when Harry comes back, that's when we'll start partying. Until then, you just mingle, but when youhear the trapdoor open and Harry walks in," he paused," you cheer. _Loud."_

Just as soon as those words were out of the Exorcist's mouth, a deafening roaring and cheering erupted throughout the room. Ron's red head bobbed above some of the other Gryffindors, and Allen, sitting on the armrest of the chair Hermione sat in. The girl was nodding in and out of sleep. From across the room, Allen heard him relaying the news to the newcomer, probably Harry.

Allen wondered how deep Harry's cuts could've gotten by tonight. The last time he saw it, which was this morning, they'd been scabbing, and Harry had kept his right hand in his pocket for the most part of the day. _I hope the potion's helping, _Allen thought.

Hermione yawned and sank into the armchair, holding her drink in her hands. Her eyes were closed, and she looked ready to just go off into dreamland. Harry arrived just in time for her to fall asleep and her butterbeer to spill on her lap. "Allen- hi."

Allen smiled. "Happy?" he asked, regarding Ron.

Harry nodded enthusiastically and held up a scabbed, red hand. The words were etched into his skin deep. "Thanks for the potion. I don't want Umbridge to return me to her detentions, so I don't want a healing potion, but I think I'd like those painkillers sometimes. It might start hurting..."he said and sat down in the armchair beside Hermione, who jumped awake, splashing some more butterbeer on her robes.

"Oh, Harry it's you..." she said tiredly, wiping away the spilled drink carelessly. "Good about Ron, isn't it? I'm just so-so-so tired. I was up until one o'clock making more hats. They're disappearing like mad!" She beamed, and Allen fidgeted as he saw Harry look around. He wished Hermione wouldn't say that he'd helped in making those woolly hats...

Harry looked sitracted. "Great," he said. He suddenly gripped the arm of his chair and leaned over Allen's knees toward Hermione, making the Exorcist yelp and almost fall. "Sorry Allen. Listen, Hermione, I was just up in Umbridge's office and she touched my arm..."

Allen and Hermione listened intently as Harry explained to them about feeling the searing pain in his cursed scar and the sinking feeling in his stomach. Hermione spoke slowly when Harry finished. "You're worried that You-Know-Who's controlling her like he controlled Quirrell?" Quirrell was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in Harry's first year, Allen remembered reading about him in his mission's files.

Harry nodded. "Well, it's a possibility, isn't it?"

"I suppose so," Hermione sounded uncertain. "But I don't think he can be _possessing _her the way he possessed Quirrell, I mean, he's properly alive now, isnt he, he's got his own body, he wouldn't need to share someone else's. He could have her under the Imperius Curse, I suppose..." She glanced at Allen, and Allen leaned forward, balancing with his hands between his legs gripping the chair armrest tightly. He looked back at her. "But last year," Hermione continued, "your scar hurt when nobody was touching you, and didn't Dumbledore say it had to with what You-Know-Who was feeling at the time? I mean, maybe this hasn't got anythingto do with Umbridge at all, maybe it's just a coincidence it happened while you were with her?"

"She's evil," Harry spat out flatly. "Twisted."

Hermione looked as if she was resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "She's horrible, yes, but...Harry, i think you ought to tell Dumbledore," she said.

Harry hesitated for a moment and replied, I'm not bothering him with this. Like you said, it's not a big deal. It's been hurting on and off all summer- it was just a bit worse tonight, that's all-"

"Harry," Hermione said hurriedly, "I'm sure Dumbledore would _want _to be bothered by this-"

"Yeah," Harry snarled, "that's the only bit of me Dumbledore cares about, isn't it, my scar?"

"Don't say that, it's not true!"

Allen agreed with Hermione; Allen had made small talk with Dumbledore several time during the week, other than the meetings, and there was never a conversation where Harry and Dumbledore's concern for him hadn't been mentioned.

"I think I'll write and tell Sirius about it, see what he thinks-"

"Harry, you can't put something like that in a letter!" Hermione snapped. "Don't you remember, Moody told us to be careful what we put in writing! We can't just guarantee owls aren't being intercepted anymore!"

Standing up in a flash, Harry brushed off Hermione's alarm irritably. "Alright, alright," he muttered. "I'm going to bed. Tell Ron for me, will you?"

"Oh, no, if you're going that means I can go without being bored without being rude too, I'm absolutely exhausted and I want to make some more hats tomorrow," Hermione said, sounding relieved. "Listen, you can help me if you like, it's quite fun, I'm getting better, I can do patterns and bobbles and all sorts od things now."

Harry looked wearily from Hermione's gleeful face to Allens tired and awkward one, and Allen grimaced and shrugged. "Er...no, I don't think I will, thanks," Harry said. He looked at Hermione for a moment and shook his head. "Er- not tomorrow. I've got loads of homework to do..."

Harry escaped quickly to the boys' dormitory before Hermione could protest, and Allen slid off the chair. "You should get some sleep too, Hermione," he said, "I'm going to talk to Harry a bit, and then we'll both go to sleep. And tell Ron that, just because he's Keeper, he should take responsibility as a prefect and go to bed before midnight."

Hermione yawned. "Right," she said. "Good night, Allen."

Allen smiled and trotted off towards the dormitory, ducking under Fred and George's arms as they danced past, and Lavi as he skipped after the twins. Inside the dormitory, Harry was changing into his pajamas swiftly, and didn't notice as he walked in. It was only until Allen was lying on his bed and was clicking his tongue that the boy looked up. "Oh, Allen-hi."

"Was wondering when you'd notice," Allen said, pulling off his coat and untying the red bowtie from around his neck. "So, what's got you so upset about Dumbledore?"

Harry stopped in the middle of buttoning up his shirt and looked at him. "Why do you want to know?" he asked heatedly.

Allen shrugged, reaching for his trunk and opening it, searching for something comfortable to wear other than his normal attire. "It's been bothering you, obviously. Do you feel as if Dumbledore's neglecting you?"

The black haired boy fell silent and walked over to Allen's bed, sat down. He stared at his feet for a while, one of which was still socked, and said quietly, "He hasn't talked to me since the end of last term. He _knows _that Voldemort's back, can't he...can't he at least tell me some of the stuff they've been talking about in their meetings for the Order? I'm involved too. Voldemort killed my parents."

Allen raised his eyebrows as he tugged a tangled set of Johnny Gill's pajamas. (Johnny was a member of the Black Order headquarter's science department, and a good friend.) Allen sat up and said, "I've talked to Dumbledore several times this week."

Harry looked surprised. "You have?"

"I sometimes sneak out at midnight to look at the sky," Allen confessed, looking away in embarrassment. He jumped off the bed and fiddled with the buttons on his shirt. "I don't why, but looking at the sky...it reminds me of the nights where Mana and I had to camp out. And it- it proves to be a good way to look out for Akuma, and, um..."

"Allen, I didn't ask why you go out to see the sky," Harry cut in. "I was wondering how you've talked to Dumbledore."

Allen flushed. "He's there sometimes," he answered, "watching the moon, and he talks to me about things. How my mission's coming along...how am I doing in classes..how he misses Hagrid..the Orders and some other things...and about you, Harry. He worries about you. He asks me how you're doing, if Umbridge is giving you a hard time, if we're friends...he talks about you all the time."

He felt Harry's gaze burning into the back of his head as he shrugged off his shirt and pulled on his borrowed pajamas. The boy, sounding disbelieving, asked, "Then why won't he come talk to me directly?"

"He's the _headmaster, _Harry," Allen said, deciding that putting on the pajama pants right now would be too awkward. Instead, he slumped back down on his bed beside Harry and closed his eyes. "I don't think he can allow himself to watch over one single student all the time, at least, not by himself. He's got a whole school to protect from disaster."

"But still-"

"It's never written in our files, Harry," Allen interrupted, "but I think, part of the reason Dumbledore called me and the others from our world is because he wanted a way to guard you. He wanted a way to protect the school and you in particular without causing trouble with the government and school for having favorites. And by the way he reacts whenI talk about you, he really cares about you...just like Mana did me."

Allen heard Harry shift, and saw him gaping at him. "He _cursed _you," Harry said flatly.

"Because I was his son," Allen retorted, "and he was my father. He cursed me because he wanted me to keep walking, live up to my name as a Walker, and as God's hands in the man's world. I'm an Exorcist, I have a piece of God's crystal inside my body, and I survived being killed by the Mana Akuma to fulfill my duty as one."

"It's strange. I understand what you're saying, what you mean," Harry said, "but I don't get it anyways. If it was me, I'd have chickened."

"Don't say that," Allen laughed, grabbing his pillow. "Now let's have a pillow fight to congratulate your escape from Umbridge, shall we?" With that, he hit Harry as hard as he could with the fluffy cushion.

"Ow!" Harry exclaimed. "Hey, stop it Allen! Come on, I just want to get to sleep! Ow- now you're going to get it..."

Allen smiled as Harry advanced with Neville's pillow in hand. _Finally he smiles at last, _he thought, and blocked a hit. They rolled around on the floor, dodging and attacking, jumped over mattresses, sometimes accidentally knocking over a stack of textbooks or Fred and George's file of orders. They were surprised that nobody walked in on them; they were being loud as they laughed and yelled, but they guessed that the party must be louder.

"Ow!" Harry yelled as a pillow Allen threw hit him in the face. "That hurt!" he hurled it towards Allen, who dodged.

He tripped over a trunk and collapsed on a pile of cushions on the ground. He grunted and groaned, then went silent, his body limp. Harry rushed over, feeling panic rise in his stomach. Maybe Allen was hurt badly? What would he do?

"Allen! Allen, are you alright?" he demanded as he fell on his knees beside Allen on the cushions.

The white haired boy groaned again and rubbed his head. He wiped his eyes with his other hand and muttered, "That hurt so bad, it wasn't funny," and chuckled. "Well, now it is...I'm so clumsy." He soon fell into a louder, stronger laugh.

"Me too, I'm a dunce too," Harry said, joining in on the laughter. Relief hit him, and he plopped down on his back beside Allen. "This is comfortable," he commented, and Allen nodded in agreement. They both yawned at the same time.

"So, feeling better now?" Allen asked.

"Sure, you tricked me into it," Harry replied. "Is that what you do to Akuma? Trick them into making them feel better so that they'd peacefully go to heaven?"

"They resist until the very end," Allen answered. "But no soul wants to be trapped forever. When they first become Akuma...they're so angered that they weep."

"I'm sorry," Harry said. "I made you remember something painful, didn't I?"

"No, it's alright."

"But the Millenium Earl is a disgusting creep. What he does is so wicked..."

"Brokers are everywhere among us," Allen said. "Humans who sell souls to the Earl."

"Even in Hogwarts?"

"I don't know, but I once knew this doctor..." Allen's voice faded away, and his breathing became even. Harry realized he'd fallen asleep, and decided he should as well, for fatigue was catching up to him quickly. He tried getting up, but by then his body was so tired...

"G'night, Allen."


	12. A Day In Ravenclaw

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Twelve: A Day In Ravenclaw

* * *

**Disclaimers: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

Being in this strange school sucked. Being in the same class as this red haired fool sucked. He should be outside, hunting down Akuma and the Millenium Earl, _not _sitting inside this stupid classroom learning how to cast these silly spells! 

"Come on, Yu, don't be so grumpy, this is pretty fun," Lavi said in a singsong voice, flicking his wand carelessly, accidentally poking the short teacher's head. "Oops, sorry, Professor Flitwick."

"Shut up," Kanda grumbled, then glared at the idiot sitting next to him, "and how many times did I tell you to _not _call me by my first name? It's _Kanda, _you carrot head."

Lavi grinned toothily, seeming not bothered at all by Kanda's rudeness, although the Japanese samurai sensed a bit of fear in the Bookman's aura. He hmphed and flicked his own wand, successfully making the pixy in front of him stop its fluttering. "Stay, you stupid creature."

The part-goblin Professor Flitwick hopped over to Kanda and said in his squeaky voice, "Very good, Mr. Kanda, very good. How everyone, I want you all to do as good as him for your N.E.W.T. exams! It's hard to believe he hasn't been at this school for less than a fortnight- and he's doing better than any of you!"

" 'Very good, Mr. Kanda, very good,' " Fred Weasley mimicked from next to Lavi. "His Rudeness is the best student in this class, is he?"

"At least _his _genius brain won't go to waste," George Weasley said to his twin. "We're pretty amazing, but we're not going to do anything other than fulfill our duties with helping those poor children fight evil teachers, so-"

"Having knowledge like yours, Kanda, " Fred continued, "won't really help us because it'll make our customers think we're two people with a lot of brain and no sense of humor, which you all know-"

"Is the best in the world!" George finished dramatically.

"I have no idea what you two are talking about," Kanda said irritably, "but I care about it no more than I care about Moyashi's life values."

Lavi laughed. "Don't worry, _Yu!"_ he said. "Allen doesn't care about what you eat, either."

"Don't call me that!" Kanda snapped, accidentally sending a firework of red sparks at Lavi's pixy, burning its arm to a crisp just as the bell rang through the castle. Kanda jumped up and was the first one out of the classroom.

Those idiots, they were always bugging him, and the fact that they were in all of his classes every day didn't make his life any better. Kanda was glad that they didn't stalk him during lunch though, them being in Gryffindor and he in Ravenclaw. Too bad weird people didn't all belong in the other houses, there were plenty of idiots in Ravenclaw as well.

As Kanda stomped down the hall towards History of Magic, a sixth year girl who reminded him slightly of Lenalee walked past, surrounded by her usual group of chit-chatty girls. He knew she talked and thought about that Harry Potter kid a lot, and she knew that he hung out with that Moyashi, and that Moyashi and he were from the same place. So, in conclusion, that sixth year Ravenclaw talked to Kanda a lot. And apparently, her friends thought him a better 'suitor' for Cho Chang than they did Harry Potter.

"Hello, Kanda," one of the girls greeted, trying to sound cute. Kanda ignored her. Cho Chang watched him curiously for a moment as she was led away, but then she was right behind him, grabbing his sleeve.

"Um, Kanda," she started.

Now Kanda was not one to give advice, especially not to silly school girls who didn't have to worry about dying every day. But if he wanted this girl to go away, he had no other way than to do what went against his policy in every single way. He glared at Cho, who looked back timidly, and said, "If you want to talk to Harry Potter _that _much, why don't you go talk to him or find Moyashi? It's much easier and faster," and with that, he pulled away from her and walked off.

"It's awkward though," Cho said to his back. "Why don't _you_ try talking to the person who came back holding the dead body of someone you loved?"

Kanda stopped and turned his head a bit. "Unfortunately for you, there's no one in this world that I love, and the one in the other world will _never _come back dead in the arms of some strange idiot."

Out of the corner of his eye, Kanda saw Cho's friends grab her arms and tug her away, and Cho had a hurt look on her pretty face...pretty?

Kanda scoffed. "It's all Moyashi's fault," he huffed.

"Hi Yu!" Lavi greeted the moment Kanda stepped into the ghost's classroom. How'd he get here before him?

"Hmph," Kanda sat down without much of a reply. "This is stupid."

"Hey look, Binns is here," Fred said.

"Good night guys," Lavi said, and his head fell onto his desk as the twins began to fight with their magical rubber chikens. Kanda, feeling extremely irritated, glared at the blackboard through the teacher's transparent body.

Several hours and classes later, Kanda walked into the Great Hall. As per usual, the stupid Moyashi was making a fool of himself by stuffing more into his mouth than his stomach could possibly hold (although it amazingly did hold it all). Sitting beside the idiot was Lenalee, who Kanda had to admit had more reasonable values than Cho Chang; Lenalee probably didn't wonder about some boy all day long like Cho did. Harry Potter and his two friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, were with the two as well, all of them watching Moyashi in amazement. Apparently the three knew about the Black Order and the Exorcists' mission.

_Those loose tongued idiots, _Kanda thought angrily, and went to sit down next to Komui, who was gazing at the Gryffindor table, his sister in particualr, with worry. Komui, being their chief at the Black Order Headquarters, had spent the whole week 'helping' the school's headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, with the stuttering Exorcist, Miranda Lotto. So far Komui came back to the common room every night with updates on what was going on in the magical and the other, 'Muggle' world. Arystar Krory, that vampire like Exorcist, helped in Herbology all day, helping the students. Kanda cursed his own age; he should be doing something more usefull than sitting in a classroom all day!

He angrily stabbed a fork into his lunch, which, to his irritation, was never his favorite dish of Japanese _soba _noodles.

Around him, conversation was everywhere.

"Gryffindor's new student, Allen Walker, he's really nice, isn't he?" a fourth year girl squealed with her friends. "So cute, too!"

Kanda's fork bent as he squeezed it, and he slammed the useless utensil down with a loud thud. Shooting a glare at the blond girl, he left the Great Hall in a huff.

There was stilltwenty minutes until lunch was over. Kanda decided that the outside was a better place to be and walked out of the large front doors into the sunlight. Stopping in the shade of a tall tree, Kanda sat down next to a tree stump and closed his eyes...

It was ususual that Kanda have dreams, but this time, he did. He was sitting in a Japanese tea room, or in the hallway outside it, staring out at the peaceful garden in front of him. Cherry blossoms fell like butterflies, and the soothing sound of water sounded in his ears. Shutting his eyes, Kanda wished with every fiber in his being that this peace in this garden would reach that person he was looking for..

_Kanda, _a voice said, echoing, _Kanda...?_

_Who is it?_ Kanda thought, refusing to open his eyes. _Who's calling my name..?_

_Leave him be, Allen, let him sleep...you guys just go ahead, I have homework to finish anyways..._

_Allen...? Moyashi? What is he doing here? Homework, what's going on...? _Kanda thought_. What is Moyashi doing in my..._

"...dream...?"

"Ah, you're awake, are you?" a girl's wise voice asked from beside him. "Sorry, didn't think you were a light sleeper."

"What?" Kanda turned his groggy eyes towards the voice and saw a shock of bushy brown hair. "Who are you?"

The girl looked at him, and Kanda recognized the girl who was always with Moyashi and the others. "Hermione Granger," the girl affirmed his guess. "Good morning to you, Kanda."

Kanda attempted to glare at the girl, but failed to do so as yawn broke his face. "Whatever," he muttered, and grabbed his bag that had fallen off his lap. In an effort to get an excuse to ignore this Hermione, he opened up a Transfiguaration textbook and pretended to read. 

"You don't have to try that hard to ignore me, Kanda, I'm doing my homework too," Hermione said, "and you're reading it upside down."

"Cheh." Kanda turned his book right side up and stifled a smirk.

Soon, the bell rang, signaling the end of luch hour. Hermione stood up but didn't walk away until Kanda stood as well. When he started walking towards thhe castle, she followed like a puppy. Her friends, Moyashi and the others, were follwing them from a distance, and Moyashi kept sending him reproachful, cautious looks. The Exorcists sent her a what-are-you-doing glare. She shrugged and said that her classroom was in the same direction.

"What's your next class?" Hermione asked innocently. "I have Ancient Runes next."

"What is it to you?" Kanda asked not so politely.

"I'm just making conversation, if you don't mind," Hermione replied good naturedly. "Allen tells me you're a mean brute, but I don't think so. In fact, you're pretty gentle."

Kanda scowled. "I have Potions next," he answered to her previous question.

Hermione grimaced. "I don't know what to say about that class. The class itself is nice, but the teacher and all the Slytherins in there..."

Kanda raised an eyebrow. "Is it that bad? I usually just throw hexes at them from under the table."

Hermione stared at him in shock. "You _what?"_

_"_Did you really think I'd do something so worthless?" Kanda asked, slightly offended. "Waste of energy. Lavi's the one always doing it. Snape isn't allowed to lay a finger on us Exorcists anyways."

"Wow," Hermione muttered.

"Bye," Kanda said, pointing his thumb down the hall. "Potions in this way, and isn't Ancient Runes that-a-way?"

"Oh, yes," Hermione said, looking flustered. "Bye Kanda." 

Kanda watched as the girl scurried away, followed by Moyashi and the others, and as he turned to walk in the other direction, Lavi caught up and swung his arm around his shoulders. "Yo, Captain. You seemed rather comfortable with Hermione there, weren't you?" the idiot asked cheerfully.

"Shut up, you idiot. She was just talking," Kanda snapped, pulling away from Lavi's grip. "Go away."

"Too bad," Lavi replied," I'm in your class next so we go the same way."

Kanda felt his pulse quickening as he quickened his pace. His patience was running short again. This school was too large, too crowded. He had an Earl to kill, a person to look for, Akuma to destroy. He wasn't supposed to be wasting time sitting in a classroom or being bothered by idiots like Lavi and Moyashi, or talking to silly girls like Cho Chang and Hermione Granger. He was an _Exorcist!_

* * *

Hello Readers!

I hope you enjoyed this one chapter. I realized I never had anything to do with Kanda, Krory, Miranda, or Komui in this story at all, so I decided to write this chapter. I'll probably do one for the others later on too...sorry to all of these characters' fans...


	13. The Daily Prophet

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Thirteen: _The Daily Prophet_

* * *

**Disclaimers: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

Allen woke up, his head throbbing. He sat up and looked around, seeing the other Gryffindors sleeping soundly on their beds, some of them missing pillows. Why, Allen wondered, and what was this lumpy thing he was sitting on..? 

"Oh, yeah, the pillow fight," Allen muttered, remembering the battle he and Harry had last night, throwing and hitting each other with pillows. He glanced down and saw the nest of cushions he was sitting on and that Harry was gone, probably outside in the common room. "What time is it?"

Outside, the sky was a pale blue with a streak of yellow just above the horizon; it was probably around six in the morning. Allen stood up, and, trying not to wake up Harry, walked over to his own bed and changed out of his pajamas and into his usual greyish attire. Then, silently, he crept out of the dormitory.

Harry was sitting in the comfortable armchair beside the fireplace, which was not lit yet. He seemed to be reading a piece of parchment over and over, concentrating. The quill in his hand was slowly dripping ink onto his lap. Allen tiptoed to the chair and looked over the boy's shoulder, not really liking to snoop, but having the feeling that this would have something to do with his mission...

What Harry was looking at was a letter, addressed to a person named Snuffle. Whoever this was had a name as silly and stupid as Kanda's name for him, Moyashi. Harry didn't notice Allen's presense, and picking up his quill, went back to writing the rest of the letter, stopping occasionally to reread it.

"Who's it to?" Allen asked the moment Harry signed his name at the bottom of the letter. By then, shuffling noises could be heard from the dormitories as the students were beginning ot wake up.

Harry jumped, and looked up in alarm. He seemed to relax a bit upon seeing that it was Allen, but he stood up and glared angrily. "Were you reading it?" he demanded.

Allen held up his hands in defense. "Relax, I only saw the name," he said. "So, who's it to?" Harry looked around nervously and started to push Allen out of hte common room. Allen yelped. "Hey! What're you doing?"

"We're going to the Owlery," Harry answered quietly, pushing open the trapdoor, "I'll explain along the way."

Walking together down the corridor, Allen waited silently for Harry to begin talking. The two of them traveled in silence for a while, then Harry glanced out the window at the pale morning sky. "Sirius is my godfather," he said, "and he was accused of murdering thirteen Muggles fourteen years ago."

Allen remembered the term. Muggles, non-magical people who generally didn't know about the existence of Hogwarts or the magical world. Allen wondered about the people in his world, Exorcists and Finders, who knew about magic but weren't exactly witches and wizards- were _they _Muggles as well?

"Is he a part of the," Allen lowered his voice as they passed several early bird Ravenclaws, "Order?"

"The headquarters is his old house," Harry answered, "he tries to help Dumbledore as much as he can, but complains he can't do much because he's being held house arrest by the others. His going outside would cause a lot of chaos, you see, and dementors would come..."

"Dementors," Allen repeated, racking his brain for what they were. Then he remembered, and wished he hadn't it. "Oh yeah, those things at Azkaban prison."

"We, Sirius and I, almost got sucked joyless by them in third year, it was horrible," Harry muttered. Allen grimaced. "He and I get along really well. I'm scared of him coming to see me though, in this dangerous time, you know. He might get caught, or worse, killed."

Allen watched as Harry fell into a gloomy silence. As the two of them walked down the hall, the Gryffindor ghost, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, otherwise known as Sir Nicholas or Nearly Headless Nick (Allen had found out why the ghost had such name once during study hall in the library, and he had nearly lost his appetite).

The ghost sent them a sharp look as he floated past. "I would _not _go there id I were you," he warned. "Peeves is planning an amusing joke on the next person to pass the bust of Paracelus halfway down the corridor." Peeves was another ghost at Hogwarts, and the most troublesome of all, one who could probably have competed with the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan if he were still alive.

"Does it involve Paracelus falling on the person's head?" Harry asked promptly, coming out of his silence.

"Funnily enough, it _does," _Nearly Headless Nick said in a bored tone. "Subtlety has never been Peeve's strong point. I'm off to try and find the Bloody Baron...He might be able to put a stop to it...See you, Harry, Allen..."

"Yeah, 'bye," Harry said, and Allen remembered seeing the Bloody Baron wandering the hall several corridors down, but when he turned to tell Nick about it, the ghost had already gone. "Come on Allen, this way's safer. Longer, but safer.."

The two took a left turn and continued on their way to the Owlery. The walked past windows showing brilliant blue sky, and Harry looke out of them in a dreamy state. Allen knew why; Harry had Quidditch later, and-

"Ah!" Allen yelped in alarm, feeling something against his ankles. Harry looked down at something, and Allen saw the caretaker Mr. Filch's gray cat, Mrs. Norris, trot away from them silently. She sent a accusing glare with her yellow eyes at them before disappearing behind a statue of Wilfred the Wistful.

Harry narrowed his eyes at her and called, "I'm not doing anything wrong," before they set off on their way once again. "Honestly. I'm completely entitled to send a letter on a Saturday morning, aren't I?"

"Of course," Allen said, "but knowing our teachers..."

Harry and Allen sighed in unison as they climbed up the stairs to the Owlery tower. As they entered, the bright sun shined down dusty opaque light through the glassless windows. Shielding his eyes, Harry called doen his snow white owl, Hedwig, from her perch up on a high rafter. The beautiful bird soared down to her master's shoulder and hooted, giving Allen an affectionate glance before Harry gently poked her beak with the letter addressed to Sirius.

"Right," the black haired boy said, "I knwo this says 'Snuffles' on the outside, but it's for Sirius, okay?"

Hedwig blinked once and Harry smiled. He walked her over to a window and sent her up into the air, standing there for a while. In the meantime, Allen ventured out of the tower togaze out at the sky and the scenery.

"It's a nice day," he said to himself, wishing more than anything that Mana was watching it through his left eye as well. "Can you see it, Mana? So...pretty.."

"It is, isn't it?" a soft voice said out of the blue, scaring Allen and almost making him topple over the stone wall and to his death. He regainsed his balance at the last moment, and finding stable ground under both his feet, he backed away from the edge and glanced at whoever it was who'd nearly- accidentally- killed him. He found the shocked and guilty face of the pretty Cho Chang.

"Oh, hello," Allen said, feeling the now familiar feeling of deja vu as he looked at the Lenalee look-alike. "I've seen you around, haven't I? Talking to Kanda sometimes."

Cho flushed. "Oh, yes," she said, looking everywhere but at Allen. "I've...asked him about Harry sometimes, but he doesn't enjoy it, does he?"

"I don't talk to him, he doesn't like me," Allen said with a shrug. "But if you're looking for Harry, why don't you just look for him?" He didn't know why, but he didn't tell Cho that Harry was _on the other side of the door._

Cho blushed again. "You're right, I wonder why I'm so...indirect?" she muttered. "I have to go and send this letter now. Bye, Allen..."

"Bye," Allen said, jumping as she nearly broke his nose when she opened the Owlery door, and watching with mild curiosity as she foze and stared at something inside for a moment, possibly Harry.

"Oh...hi," Cho said. "I didn't think anyone would be up here this early..." She sent Allen a questioning look and walked in and closed the door behind her, so Allen didn't here if she said anything afterwards.

Several minutes later found Allen sitting dangerously close to the edge of the wall, dozing off as he'd fallen asleep watching the clouds. He dreamt about the aftermath of his war, after the Earl is defeated, when everyone went Home, when he next met his Master Cross (Allen wasn't really looking forward to _that _though)...until a gruff voice snapped him out of his subconsciousness.

"What ye doing 'ere, boy? Causing trouble like that Potter, me hope not," the voice said.

This time Allen _did _fall off the wall, although he caught himself with his hand just in time, and whoever the voice belonged to reached out a weak looking, old hand and grabbed the collar of his coat. The two of them managed to pull Allen back onto stable ground, and Allen vowed once and for all that he was _never _going near the edge of a high place ever again.

"Ah, thank you, sir," Allen said, rubbing his neck where his coat had dug in painfully.

"What're ye doing 'ere this time of the morning?" Argus Filch, the caretaker, demanded, sounding more suspicisous than he should've.

Allen sat cross legged on the floor and answered simply, "I'm waiting for Harry, sir, I'm waiting for Harry Potter. I'm sure he wouldn't leave me here alone, so I think he's still in here."

"He's in 'ere, is he?" Filch sneered, looking at the door of the Owlery like a snake that had found its hiding prey. "Oh, I've got you now, Potter, you and your sneaky Dungbombs..."

When the door shut behind the caretaker, Allen blinked into the air. "Dungbombs?" he repeated, confused as to why Filch would find a connection between Harry and those silly joke products.

A couple minutes later, Filch came out growling at Harry, and then left. Harry and Cho came out a moment after looking confused. Harry, probably mermerized by the fact that his crush was talking to him, forgot about Allen as he and the girl walked away. Allen, holding back a fit of laughter, followed them in silence.

When they reached a corridor that led to the castle's west wing, Cho said to Harry, "I'm going this way. Well, I'll...I'll see you around, Harry."

"Yeah...see you," Harry said in a low voice.

Cho smiled, cast a surprised look in Allen's way- she probably hadn't noticed the Exorcist until now- and left. Harry followed her gaze and blushed madly when he spotted Allen, but the latter didn't say anything and Harry looked happy as the two of them began their trek to the Great Hall. Allen was starving, he realized. He hadn't fed himself enough in a long time now, and the extra energy from using his parastite-type anti-Akuma weapon left him hungry constantly.

"Morning," Harry said brightly as they joined Ron, Hermione, Lenalee, and Lavi at the Gryffindor table. Fred and George and Lee Jordan were a few seats away, their heads together as they discussed, Allen guessed, the information they'd gained from their first year genius pigs.

"What are you looking so pleased about?" Ron asked, and soon he, Hermione, and Harry were in conversation. Allen sat down between Lenalee and Harry, grabbed himself a large portion of the food in front of him, and began to chow down.

"Where were you?" Lavi asked.

"Owwie wi'arry," Allen answered through a stuffed mouth.

"Are you hurt?" Lenalee asked.

"Wha? Mmph," Allen swallowed his food and shook his head. "No, I was with Harry at the Owlery."

"Why?" the two other Exorcists asked at once.

"He was sending a letter to his godfather, Sirius."

"Oh, I remember him from the files," Lavi said, his eyes lightening up. "Accused of murdering thirteen Muggles, locked up in Azkaban prison for twelve years, escaped."

"He's part of the Order of the Phoenix now," Allen added, whispering as a couple of giggling third years, passed them, glancing at him happily.

A sudden gasp from Hermione cut them off.

"What's happened?" Harry asked, snatching half of Hermione's copy of _The Daily Prophet._

Hermione read her half in a hushed voice. The Exorcists leaned in to read along and hear her say, " '_The Ministry of Magic has received a tip-off from a reliable source that Sirius Black, notorious mass murderer...blah blah blah...is currently hiding in London!' " _

"Lucius Malfoy!, I'll bet anything" Harry hissed, naming Draco Malfoy's father, whose name Allen recognized. Lucius was a Death Eater, a follower of Lord Voldemort. "He _did _recognize Sirius on the platform..."

"What?" Ron nearly yelled. "You didn't say-"

"Shh!" Hermione and Harry said, and the six continued reading the newspaper.

"_...'Ministry warns Wizarding community that Black is very dangerous...killed thirteen people...broke out of Azkaban..' "_ Lenalee read.

"The usual rubbish," Hermione said, putting down her half of the paper. She looked at her 'comrades' looking frightened. "Well, he won't be able to leave the house again, that's all," she said, sounding strong, but her voice was trembling a little. "Dumbledore did warn him not to."

Harry looked down glumly at his half of the paper, which he'd torn when grabbing it from Hermione's hand. "Hey!" he suddenly exclaimed. Allen leaned over his shoulder and followed his gaze. The others did the same. All of them looked at a short article at the bottom of a column. Allen didn't understand, but it was probably an important piece of information to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The article was headlined:

**TRESSPASS AT MINISTRY**

Sturgis Podmore, 38, of number two Laburnum Gardens, Clapham, has appeared in front of the Wizengamot charged with tresspass and attempted robbery at the Ministry of Magic on 31st August. Podmore was arrested by Mnistry of Magic watch-wizard Eric Munvh, who found him attemping to force...

Allen stopped reading and straightened, watching as the others continued to study the short article. After a while, Ron muttered, "Sturgis Podmore? But he's that bloke who looks like his head's been thatched, isn't he? He's one of the Ord-"

"Ron, _shh!_" Hermione snapped, glancing around them in alarm

"Six months in Azkaban!" Harry whispered to Allen. "Just for trying to get through a door!" Allen agreed- it was an exaggerated punishment.

"Don't be silly, it wasn't just for trying to get through a door- what on earth was he doing at the Ministry of Magiv at one o'clock in the morning?" Hermione said, overhearing him.

"D'you reckon he was doing something for the Order?" Ron asked quietly.

"Wait a moment..." Harry said, realization shining in his bright green eyes. "Sturgis was supposed to come and see us off, remember?"

"Yeah, he was supposed to be part of our guard going to King's Cross, remember? And Moody was all annoyed because he didn't turn up, so that he doesn't seem like he was supposed to be on a job for them, does he?" Ron said.

"Well, maybe they didn't expect him to get caught," Hermione suggested. Allen doubted it.

"It could be a frame-up!" Ron exclaimed. Out of the corner of his eye, Allen saw Kanda and Komui look up from their breakfast, as well as Krory and Miranda from theirs. Several other random students did as well, confused. Hermione glared at him, and Ron continued, his voice dropping dramatically. "No-listen! The Ministry suspects he's on of Dumbledore's lot so- I dunno- they _lured _him to the Ministry, and he wasn't trying to get through a door at all! Maybe they've just made up something to get him!"

Harry and Hermione fell silent, looking as if to consider Ron's theory. Harry caught Allen's eyes, and he seemed disbelieving. Hermione, however, looked at Ron with awe and said, "Do you know, I wouldn't be at all surprised it that were true."

She folded her newspaper and went into silence. In the meanwhile, Harry, Ron, and Allen finished up their breakfast. When they put down their forks and knives, she looked up and said, "Right, well, I think we should tackle that essay for Sprout on Self-Fertilizing Shrubs first, and if we're lucky we'll be able start McGonagall's Inamimatus Conjurus before lunch..." 

By an hour after breakfast, Hermione was fuming. "I can't _believe _it," she seethed angrily at Allen, who sat across from her with his textbook open and resting on his lap. Lenalee, sitting next to him, looked up from her essay and looked at the brown haired girl nervously. "I am not going to make up for them anymore. I've warned them _enough _times, and yet they pick Quidditch over homework! If they fail their O.W.L.s, it's not my fault."

Allen and Lenalee exchanged looks, Timcampy floating over their heads, as if he was studying with them. "Well, I'm sure they understand that," Allen said, hoping to sound encouraging.

Hermione scoffed. "Oh really? They always copy at least half my notes, and this time I'm not lending them anything!" she huffed. "Honestly, how do they expect to _survive?_"

Allen shrugged. "With Umbridge in Defense Against the Dark Arts?" he asked. "I'm telling you, if anyone passes that class, I hope the Ministry immediately classifies them as geniuses."

Hermione smiled and buried herself in her homework.

* * *

Hello-

I kind of thought that the end of this chapter was lame. It probably _is, _but I had the feeling that if I didn't end it here, then it'll never end...


	14. Protection and Endangerment

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Fourteen: Protection and Endangerment

* * *

**Disclaimers: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

Harry and Ron came back for lunch, during which Hermione lectured them about how much she thought they were being irresponsible. Both boys seemed to be useed to her irritation about studying -or the lack of it, in their case- and kept a non-flustered face until they left for their official Quidditch practice. Lenalee thought she saw several Slytherins go after them, but brushed it off as her paranoia and that even nasty Slytherin jerks had the right to go anywhere they wished. But... 

"You know as well as I do where _they're _going," Lavi said, sighing. Fred and George Weasley, the two Quidditch Beaters, had left for practice as well. Lavi and Lee Jordan were the only ones left, watching in boredom as Allen shoveled down his food.

Lenalee agreed and sighed. "I'm going to look for Komui," she said, standing up from the table. "I'll see you guys later."

"Wait- Lenalee!" Allen said suddenly, stumbling to his feet as well. "I'm coming with you...where're you going?"

She suppressed another sigh. "The greenhouses to talk to Krory, then I'm going to go look for Komui and the others," she answered.

The white-haired Exorcist straightened his coat and brushed bread crumbs off the front. He fumbled in his hood for a moment, then nodded. "Let's go then," he said. "Are you coming, Lavi?"

"I'll catch up in a few," the bookman replied. "So, what were you saying, Jordan?"

The two Exorcists left the Great Hall.

"No reports of Akuma lately, huh?" Lenalee muttered. "You haven't seen any, have you?"

"No," Allen answered thoughtfully and touched his cursed left eye with a gloved hand. "But...I'm not so sure if I haven't missed any."

The Chinese girl stumbled and gaped at Allen in shock. "You think you've _overlooked _some?" she said in astonishment. "Allen, I'm not trying to sound mean or anything, but that eye of yours could detect Akuma up to three hundred yards away, even through objects- you said so yourself. It _can't _overlook any..."

"But a curse is considered Dark Magic," Allen replied.

"So?" Lenalee asked. The two of them had reached the greenhouses now, and, upoon spotting Arystar Krory inside one of the large sunlit rooms, she opened the door for the both of them.

"Ever since Lord Voldemort's come back," Allen explained, taking his hand off his eye, "Somehow the protection against Dark Magic's strengthened. Dumbledore told us that during our meeting a few days ago. I think...because the protection surrounding the castle is so strong..."

"What is it, Allen? What?" Lenalee asked, sounding as well as feeling anxious. She grabbed Allen's shoulders; it took every ounce of strength and self control in her to refrain herself from shaking him, her frustration and worry blinding her. "Allen, you're not hiding something, are you?"

Hearing the sudden exclamation, a frightened and surprised looking Krory rushed over to them. "Lenalee, Allen, what is the matter?" he asked. He pried Lenalee away from Allen, who stepped back and regarded the two of them calmly.

"The protection is too strong for Mana's curse," he said grimly, "and it's harder for me to tell whether someone is human or an Akuma."

"What?" Krory gasped. "Allen, do you mean to say that you cannot detect the Akuma?"

"Since _when?_" Lenalee demanded.

"Well," Allen said, "I was just beginning to notice it since those two Akuma's arrived. I only saw them when they were nearly right outside the window, and I'd seen those two at the opening feast and at breakfast that morning. It was strange because I didn't recognize the lost souls hovering over them until they were so close..."

"Allen, that was on Monday!" Lenalee said angrily. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Lenalee," Krory soothed, "do not yell, calm down."

"Lenalee," Allen said, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But what would you have done if I'd told you?"

"I-I..." Lenalee stuttered, hot tears stinging in the corners of her eyes. Allen was right. If he'd told her about his eye, what would she have done anyway? What _could _she have done for him? She hid her face, looking down at the ground, feeling useless, helpless.

"What's all the ruckus in here?"

All three Exorcists looked up, seeing another of them leaning against the greenhouse doorway, looking bored, although his eyes said otherwise. Yu Kanda stood was glaring at them through narrowed eyes, regarding them with just as much interest he had for anything else, and repeated, "What's going on?"

Allen and Krory exchanged looks over Lenalee's head, and the younger boy said, "It's nothing, really."

"How come I don't believe your answer, Moyashi?" Kanda muttered, pushing himself off the wall and walking over to his least favorite Exorcist, looking him straight in the eye. "One thing I know is that she doesn't exactly start crying and yelling at nothing, especially not some bean sprout like _you."_

_"_Gee, thanks, should I be happy about that?" Allen asked sarcastically, but looked away at a small bug crawling up Kanda's long black hair. "It's not something that concerns you, Kanda, please leave me alone."

Lenalee sent Allen a sharp glare but didn't say anything. Kanda, however, just rolled his eyes and clucked his tongue in irritation. "For once Moyashi gets something right," he muttered. "Whatever. Komui's looking for the three of you. I already sent Lavi down, but then that idiot told me to get you three and bring you to Dumbledore's office. I don't feel like wasting my time here any more than I have to, so come with me, will you?"

Lenalee sniffed, "Okay," and Allen nodded. Krory gave one longing glance at the plants he was tending to and nodded as well. He, being the gentle, kind hearted man he was, gently placed his hand on the girl's shoulder and led her out the door, looking back at Allen with a sad face.

"I guess both of them are mad at me," Allen muttered, scratching the back of his head. Kanda rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Wow, you're actually responding?"

"Did you think you were the _only one _feeling the effects of the protection, you idiot?" Kanda asked irritably.

"Huh?"

"Whatever."

------------

"I was wondering when you'd come, we were so lonely, you know?" Komui mock-whined as the Exorcists all gathered in Dumbledore's office. From a shady corner, Miranda waved shyly and smiled, although her eyes looked frightened beyond all possibilities.

"Shut up, Komui," Kanda almost growled. "Moyashi got _lost._"

"Lost, you say?" Dumbledore asked calmly from his desk. He peered at Allen with a look of good-natured amusement. "Ah, I see, I see."

Allen grimaced. "Do I even look like a person who gets lost easily?" he squeaked. The headmaster of Hogwarts smiled.

"Please," he said, motioning to the chairs that had, just now, magically appeared by his desk, "take a seat."

Kanda inwardly cursed his luck as he found himself being forced into the seat between Lavi and Allen, but didn't say anything, sensing that, if he were to grumble and complain, Lenalee would be less merciful than and might kick off his head in her state of mind right now. 

Dumbledore folded his hand on his desk and peered at them all through wise eyes. "I hope your first week here has been comfortable for you?" he said.

Allen, Lenalee, and Lavi nodded in reply, as did Komui and Krory. Miranda seemed lost in her thoughts, but Kanda just rolled his eyes. "I hope that's _not _the reason you called us all to this room, is it?" he asked.

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, no, certainly not only that," he chuckled. His gaze suddenly turned grim and serious. He gazed, in particular, at Allen and Kanda. "I take it that the two of you have noticed?"

Allen and Kanda looked at each other in surprise as the others' gazed landed on them. "What?" Allen said to Dumbledore.

"The protection," Kanda muttered, realization dawning on him. "It's been decreasing the power of Moyashi's curse, and..."

Lavi blinked. "It has?" he asked Allen.

Lenalee answered for the boy. "He's been noticing it since _Monday_ and never told us about it," she said. Allen glanced at her feeling guilty, but she avoided his eyes. "Professor Dumbledore, do you know who strengthened the barrier?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "If any of the staff or goverment, or anyone strong enough to actually do so who is on our side, did it," he said, "I would know immediately. "

"So you're saying," Kanda analyzed, "that one of _them _might have made the barrier stronger so that us Exorcists' powers would decrease?" 

"I would calculate so."

"Is there any wizard strong enough to actually do that?" Krory asked.

"No," Komui answred, "I've checked the records. The only people who could have been able to alter the protection are the founders of Hogwarts- or Professor Dumbledore himself."

"Then who-" Allen gasped.

Miranda was sitting silently in her seat, staring at her hands clasped tightly in her lap. At this time, however, she looked up and muttered the name of the possibility that had been haunting everyone's mind. "The Millenium Earl, perhaps?" she suggested softly, voicing everyone else's fears.

Dumbledore turned to her, and she returned to staring at her hands. "I mean, it...it is a possiblity...I'm sorry," she stuttered. 

"The Earl," Kanda sighed, slumping forward in his seat. "His messing with this place makes our life so much more troublesome."

Allen and Lavi glanced at each other over Kanda's head. The future Bookman's green eyes fell on the star-shaped curse, the pentacle, on Allen's forehead. "That won't help you much anymore, mate," Lavi muttered, "or us."

Lenalee looked from her brother to the headmaster. "We should be prepared from now, more than ever," she said.

"Yes," Krory agreed, "the Earl may start sending in Akuma from now, and Voldemort-"

Dumbledore closed his eyes. Allen understood how he must feeling. The headmaster of a school with hundreds of witches and wizards, responsible for all of their lives, and the people he'd called for help were now also in danger. Helplessness. Uselessness. Allen remembered seeing the deperation in an Akuma's soul as it was forced to self-destruct...how it had hurt to know he could have saved him...

"Dumbledore," Allen began, "can't you fix the barrier?"

"No, I'm afraid," the headmaster sighed; "it appears that the Millenium Earl has more mgic than I do.."

"Well, if he can control Dark Matter and destroy Innocence, he probably does," Kanda scowled.

"Damn," Lavi cursed, and Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at him. "I mean, crud- crap- arrgg..sorry, sir."

"I do not have any ways to...assist you in this case," the old man said slowly and sadly. "My apologies, but I sensed the need to inform you all about this."

"We appreciate it," Komui said, but his jaws were tight and his eyebrows creased. His eyes hardened and he unconsciously squeezed his sister's hand. Lenalee looked up at his face in wonder. Was Komui scared?

"Cheh," Kanda seethed, standing up swiftly. "I take it there's nothing else you have to inform us, is there? I'm leaving, if Moyashi's eye isn't going to work for us, then it's all the better if we don't coop up in this room. I'm going back to the Great Hall to hunt some Akuma."

Lavi and Allen followed the samurai as he stomped out of the office. Allen looked over his shoulder once and called good-bye before the three of them disappeared behind the door. Lenalee stared after the white haired boy, wondering if he even cared about how his keeping things to himself affected her. Krory and Miranda left as well, both looking rather defeated and anxious. Komui stayed, and so did she, as the two of them and Dumbledore sat in silence.

------------

"_That _was a lousy meeting, wasn't it?" Lavi asked Allen as the two of them entered the Gryffindor common room.

Allen, distracted, just nodded and slumped down on an armchair. "Yeah, it was-"

"Completely lousy," a voice said in a monotone. The Exorcists looked up and saw Ron, Hermione, and Harry. Judging from the gloomy look in Ron's eyes, they were probably talking about Quidditch practice.

"Well, it was only your first one," Hermione said, "it's bound to take time-"

"Who said it was me who made it lousy?" Ron demanded.

"No one, I thought-"

Ron cut her off by jumpingout of his chair and stomping off. "I'm going to get started on some homework," he said.

"Psst, Allen," Lavi whispered, "let's go talk to them, eh?"

"No, I'm going to sleep," Allen answered, and he promptly closed his eyes. "Wake me up when you're going to sleep, will you, Lavi?"

"Sweet dreams," the red haired boy said.

_It's probably going to be a nightmare, _Allen thought as he fell into the world of darkness that lay beyond the colors of everyday life, the darkness when he closed his eyes. _Mana, I'm sorry, maybe this time, I might stumble...will you help me up again and send me on my way?_


	15. Percy's Letter

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Fifteen: Percy's Letter

* * *

**Disclaimers: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

"You know, we probably should try and get more homework done in the week," Harry muttered, placing his Transfiguration essay in a safe place on the table. 

"Yeah," Ron agreed, taking out another parchment and scribbling out the beginning of his Astronomy essay "Listen...shall we just ask Hermione if we can have a look at what she's done?"

"No, you know she won't let us."

"She won't let you what?"

Harry and Ron jumped at the sudden question, not noticing Lenalee standing behind them. "H-hi Lenalee," Ron stuttered, his ears turning red.

Lenalee smiled at him and turned to Harry, "So, what won't Hermione let you do?"

"Ask to see her essay for help," Harry answered glumly, mumbling, but his heart was racing. She was just like Cho Chang...

The Chinese Exorcist looked over at where Hermione was chatting away animately with Ginny and Lavi, Allen sitting on the arm of her chair reading a book. Crookshanks, Hermione's big orange cat, was slumbering his her lap. She didn't seem to be paying any attention to Lenalee or the two studying boys. Lenalee leaned down and placed a rolled up parchment on the table.

"I don't know why I carry my bookbag around all the time," she said, "but you were lucky I did. Just don't get it ruined, okay? Tata..."

As the girl walked away, Harry and Ron stared at the parchment on the table. "Did she just lend us her essay?" Harry asked.

"I think, and she's a lifesaver," Ron said, holding the parchment like a holy scroll. He opened it carefully and layed it out in the middle of the table. "She's just as smart as Hermione, too. Hallelujah."

During the day, Hermione didn't wander over to them once, but the Exorcists passed as they went: Lenalee to gently point out minor mistakes every once in a while, or to offer them a copy of her notes; Allen to bring them food and sit with them, skimming through textbooks and explaining difficult passages and information, pointing out tips on how to get a good score; Lavi to sometimes relieve the boys' sore eyes and tired minds with a short story of the going on's in the corridors outside. But Harry and Ron noticed that all three of them, despite the fact that they had no need to do so, had finished their homework responsible -unlike them- and had also done quality work. Along with Hermione, Lenalee and Allen were the smartest students in class. Were Exorcists all this smart? Harry and Ron, however, were just about average and, despite the help their three friends were giving them, didn't make any significant progress in their load of work

"Nearly done?" Hermione asked at half past eleven o'clock. It was nearly midnight; the common room was mostly empty except for Harry and Ron and Hermione and the Exorcists. Fred and George, followed by Lee Jordan, were waving good night to Lavi as they disappeared into the boys' dormitory after a wobbling crowd of first years.

Ron grimly looked up from his half-finished Astronomy essay. "No," he said.

Hermione raised an eyebrow and read whatever was on Ron's parchment. "Jupiter's biggest moon is Ganymede, not Callisto," she said, "and it's Io that's got the volcanoes."

"Thanks," Ron scratched out the sentences, and his voice was clipped and came out in a snarl.

"Sorry, I only-"

"Yeah, well, if you've just come over here to criticize-"

_Which is basically what Lenalee was doing, but you never minded _her, Harry thought.

"Ron-" Hermione began.

"I haven't got time to listen to a sermon, all right, Hermione, I'm up to my neck in it here-"

"No-look!"

Harry and Ron both looked up. Hermione was pointing to the nearest window, and the boys followed her gaze. Their eyes landed on the shadow of a handsome screech owl that was gazing intently at Ron.

There was a pause, then Hermione said, "Isn't that Hermes?" snapping Ron and Harry out of their stupor.

"Blimey, it is!" Ron whispered, and dashed over to the owl. "What's Percy writing to me for?"

From their place on the floor, playing a card game, the three Exorcists looked up as Ron passed by them, and they followed the red haired boy as Ron walked back to Harry and Hermione.

"Did I hear the name of Percy Weasley?" Lavi asked. "Fred and George've told me about him, the only one in your family against good ol' Dumbledore, isn't he? Siding with the stubborn Minister, or so they say."

"Precise information they gave you," Hermione answered. "Is it from Percy, Ron, for sure?"

"That's definetly Percy's handwriting," Ron answered, slinking in his chair and holding a scroll in his hand. He stared at the words for a moment, looked up, and said, "What d'you reckon?"

"Open it!" Hermione urged, and Harry nodded. Allen, Lavi, and Lenalee stood back in silence and waited, although all thre of them were interested in what Ron's older brother had written.

Ron was reading the letter for himself in silence, but the three Exorcists backed up and half hid behind Harry, feeling an eerie feeling of irritation and anger radiating off of Ron. When he was finished reading, the boy threw down the parchment. Harry grabbed it; Hermione and the others leaned over his shoulder to read the letter.

_Dear Ron,_

_I have only just heard (from no less a person that the Minister of Magic himself, who has it from your new teacher, Professor Umbridge) that you have become a Hogwarts prefect._

_I was most pleasantly pleased when I heard this news and must firmly offer my congratulations. I must admit that I have always been afraid that you would take what we might call the "Fred and George" route, rather than following in my footsteps, so you can imagine my feelings on hearing you have stopped flouting authority and have decided to shoulder some real responsibility._

_But I want to five you more than congratulations, Ron, I want to give you some advice, which is why I am sending this at night rather than by the usual morning post. Hopefully you will be able to read this away from prying eyes and avoid awkward questions._

_"_Awkward questions my foot," Lavi muttered, "I'll be it's awkward having a brother who hasn't used _one _contraction in three paragraphs."

"Freedom, Lavi, he has every right to talk and write the way he wants to," Lenalee replied, "now shush."

Allen rolled his eyes and continued reading:

_From something the Minister let slip when telling me you are now a prefect, I gather that you are still seeing a lot of Harry Potter. I must tell you, Ron, that nothing could put you in fanger of losing your badge more than continued fraternization with that boy. Yes, I am sure you are surprised to hear this- no doubt you will say that Potter has always been Dumbledore's favorite- but I feel bound to tell you that Dumbledore may not be in chage at Hogwarts much longer and the people who count have a very different- and probably more accurate- view of Potters behavior. I shall say no more here, but if you look at the _Daily Prophet _tomorrow you will get a good idea of the way the wind is blowing- and see if you can spot yours truly!_

_Seriously, Ron, you do not want to be tarred with the same brush as Potter, it could be very damaging to your future prospects, and I am talking here about life after school too. Ad you must be aware, given that our father escorted him to court, Potter had a disciplinary hearing this summer in front of the whole Wizangamot and he did not come out of it looking too good. He got off on a mere technicality if you ask me and many of the people I've spoken to remain convinced of his guilt._

_"_ 'Seriously, Ron,'_" _Lavi mimicked.

"Shh!"

_It may be that you are afraid to sever ties with Potter- I know that he can be unbalanced and, for I know, violent- but if you have any worried about this, or have spotted anything in Potter's behavior that is troubling you, I urge you to speak to Dolores Umbridge, a really delightful woman, who I know will be only too have to advise you._

_This leads me to my other bit of advice. As I have hinted above, Dumbledore's regime at Hogwarts may soon be over. Your loyalty, Ron, should be not to him, but to the school and the Ministry. I am very sorry to hear that so far Professor Umbridge is encountering very little cooperation from staff as she strives to make those necessary changes within Hogwarts that the Minstry so ardently desires (although she should find this easier from next week- again, see the _Prophet _tomorrow!). I shall say only this- a student who shows himself willing to help Profesor Umbridge may be very weell placed for Head Boyship in a couple of years!_

_I am sorry that I was unable to see more of you over the summer. It pains me to criticize our parents, but I am afraid I can no longer live under their roof while they remain mized up with the dangeroud crowd around Dumbledore (if you are writing to Mother at any point, you might tell her that a certain Sturgis Podmore, who is a great friend of Dumbledore's has recently been sent to Azkaban for trespass at the Ministry. Perhaps that will open their eyes to the kind of petty criminals with whom they are currently rubbing shoulders). I count myself very lucky to have escaped the stigma of association with such people- the Minister really could not be more gracious to me- and I do hope, Ron, that you will not allowe family ties to blind you to the misguided nature of your parent's beliefs and actions either. I sincerely hope that, in time, they will realize how mistaken they were and I shall, of course, be ready to accept a full apology when that day comes._

_Please think over what I have said carefully, particulary the bit about Harry Potter, and congratulations again on becoming prefect. _

_Your brother, _

_Percy_

Allen and Lenalee exhanged glances upoon finishing reading the letter. Lavi was looking thoughful when Harry and Hermione looked up at Ron.

"Well," Harry said lightly with a shrug, but Allen swore he saw a vein pop in the boy's temple, "if you want to- er- what is it? Oh yeah- 'sever ties' with me, I sweat I won't get violent."

Ron seethed. "Give it back," he snapped. "He is the world's biggest git," he said, ripping the letter with every other word, then threw the pieces in to the fireplace. Allen's golem, Timcampy, swooped down and played with the stray strips that had missed the flames.

Lavi put his arms around Lenalee and Allen's shoulder and muttered wisely in their ears, "'What is right isn't always' popular; what is popular isn't always right.' You don't know how many times I've heard people say that."

Allen agreed silently, still watching as Harry leaned down over his essay again, insisting he finish it before dawn. Allen caughet Hermione's gaze and rolled his eyes. The girl sighed, nodded, and said, "Oh, give them here."

"What?" Ron said.

"Give them to me, I'll look through them and correct them," Hermione said.

"Are you serious? Ah, Hermione, you're a lifesavor," Ron sighed in happiness. "What can I-?

"What you can say is," Hermione said, "'We promise we'll never leave our homework this late again.'"

"Thanks a million, Hermione," Harry said, handing her his essay and dropping his head on the table, rubbing his eyes. Allen winked at Hermione, who smiled back.

"Let's go back to our game," Allen suggested.

"It's quite obvious me and Lenalee aren't going to win against you," Lavi said, "let's just make a card tower by the fireplace." Without waiting for a reply, the red haired boy gathered up Allen's deck of cards and promptly sat down by the warm glow of the fire, grinning.

At the table where they were rejoicing in Hermione's kindness, Ron was saying to the girl," Hermione, you are honestly the most wonderful person I've ever met, and if I'm ever ude to you again-"

"-I'll know you're you back to normal," the girl finished. "Harry, yours is okay except for this bit at the end, I think you must have misheard Professor Sinistra, Europa's covered in _ice, _not mice- Harry?"

"Arrrg!" Lavi exclaimed, for Harry had just crawled over to the fireplace in a daze and knocked over Lavi's beautifully made tower. "No, Harry! How could you?"

"Boo hoo hoo," Allen mocked, suppressing a laugh, but he was worried about how close Harry's nose was to the flames.

"Er- Harry?" Ron said. "Why are you down there?"

"Because I've just seen Sirius's head in the fire," Harry answered.

"What- who?" Lavi and Lenalee said, the former snapping out of his dramatic grieving.

Allen was next to Harry in a flash, on his knees and looking for telltale signs of a man's head in the sea of flames. "He's Harry's godfather," Allen explained.

"Sirius's head?" Hermione said, sounding skeptical. "You mean like when he wanted to talk to you during the Triwizard Tournament? But he wouldn't do that now, it would be too- _Sirius!"_

Allen gasped and jumped away from the fireplace, crashing into Lavi and sending them both on their backs. Lenalee yelped in surprise, seeing a thin, handsome face of a young man peering out at them from the fire, his long dark hair framing his grin.

"I'm sorry for the fright there, you guys," Sirius Black greeted good-naturedly. "You're the Exorcists Dumbledore's told us about last time, aren't you? I really appreciate what you're doing for us..."

"Well," Lavi said, sitting up and pulling Allen up with him, "fighting this Voldy-mort for you is necessary for us too."

"It's Voldemort," Lenalee corrected.

"Right, well," Sirius said, turning to Harry, "I was starting to think you'd go to bed before everyone else had disappeared. I've been checking every hour."

"You've popping into the fire every hour?" Harry asked, sounding torn between laughing and getting angry.

"Just for a few seconds to check if the coast was clear yet."

"But what if you'd been seen?" Hermione demanded anxiously.

Sirius looked thoughtful for a second. "Well, I think a gir- first year by the look of her- might've got a glimpse of me earlier, but don't worry," he said, "I was gone the moment she looked back at me and I'll bet she thought I was an oddly shaped log or something."

"But Sirius, this is taking an awful risk-"

"You sound like Molly," Sirius said, pouting slightly. "This was the only way I could come up with of answering Harry's letter without resorting to a code- and codes are breakable."

"You didn't say you'd written to Sirius!" Hermione said accusingly. Ron was staring at his best friend in shock.

"I forgot," Harry answered honestly. Allen, hearing that, rolled his eyes. Hermione was still glaring at Harry. "Don't look at me like that, Hermione, there was no way anyone would have got secret information out of it, was there, Sirius?"

"No, it was very good. Anyway, we'd better be quick, just in case we're disturbed, your scar."

"What about-?" Ron began, but was cut off my sharp looks form Hermone and Allen alike. Hermione said quickly, "We'll tell you afterward, go on, Sirius."

"Well, I know it can't be fun when it hurts," Sirius told Harry, "but we don't think it's anything to really worry about. It kept aching all last year, didn't it?"

"Yeah, and Dumbledore said it happened whenever Voldemort was feeling a poweful emotion," Harry said, ignoring Hermione and Ron as they flinched. "So maybe he was just, I dunno, really angry or something the night I had that detention."

"Well, now that he's back it's bound to hurt more often," Sirius said.

"So you don't think it had anything to do with Umbridge touching me when I was in detention with her?" Harry asked.

"I doubt it," Sirius said. "I know her reputation and I'm sure she's no Death Eater-"

"She's foul enough to be one," Harry and Lavi said at once, and they were supported enthusiastically by Ron and Hermione.

"Yes, but the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters," the man said. "I know she's a nasty piece of work, though- you should hear Remus talk about her."

"Does Lupin know her?" Harry asked.

"No," Sirius said," but she drafted a bit of anti-werewolf legislation two years ago that made it almost impossible for him to get a job."

"Does she have anything against cursed people?" Allen asked irritably, and Lenalee shot him a look. "What?"

Hermione looked vivid and angry. "What's she got against werewolves?" she snarled.

"Scared of them, i expect," Sirius answered. "Appeanretly she loathes part-humans; she campaigned to have merpeople rounded up and tagged last year too. Imagine wasting your time and energy persecuting merpeople when there are little toerags like Kreacher on the loose-"

Ron burst out laughing, and Allen leaned in and whispered to Harry, "What's Kreacher?"

"The house elf at Sirius's house that everyone but Hermione doesn't like," Harry muttered back, "honestly, he's a burden to everyone, what we wouldn't do to-"

Allen looked upset. "That's cruel," he said.

Hermione was looking at Sirius repoachfully. "Sirius!" she said. "Honestly, if you made a bit of an effort with Kreacher, I'm sure he'd respond, after all, you are the only member the family he's got left, and Professor Dumbledore said-"

"So what are Umbridge's lessons like?" Sirius asked, ignoring Hermione's preaching. "Is she teaching you all to kill hald-breeds?"

"No," Harry answered. "She's not letting us use magic at all!"

"All we do is read the stupid textbooks," Ron added.

"Ah, well, that figures," Sirius said. "Out information from inside the Ministry is that Fudge doesn't want you trained in combat."

"_Trained in combat?_ What does he think we're doing here, forming some sort of wizard army?" Harry said in exasperation.

"That's ridiculous," Lavi said, "but judging from whatever we've learned about the Ministry so far, it's understandable if he _does _think that way." Lenalee and Allen nodded in agreement.

"But-" Hermione and Ron gasped.

"That's exactly what he thinks you're doing."

The Exorcists choked on thir breath, not being able to believe that the Minister of Magic was that scared of Dumbeldore. "That's just rubbish, he's a scaredy-cat," Lavi muttered, suppressing a laugh.

"Or rather, that's what he's afraid of Dumbledore doing- forming his own pribate army, with which he will be able to take on the Ministry of Magic," Sirius said.

Eveyone fell silent for a moment before Ron said, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, including all the stuff that Luna Lovegood come out with."

"So we're being prevented from learning Defense Against the Dark Arts because Fudge is scared we'll use spells against the Ministry?" Hermione demanded furiously.

"Yep. Fudge thinks Dumbledore will stop at nothing to seize power. He's getting more paranoid about Dumbledore by the day. It's a matter of time before he has Dumbledore arrested on some trumped-up charge," Sirius said, and everyone was reminded grimly of the letter from Ron's brother, Percy.

"Do you know if there's going to be anything about Dumbledore in the _Daily Prophet _tomorrow?" Lenalee asked. "Only Ron's brother Percy reckons there will be-"

Sirius shook his head. "I don't know," he said, "I haven't seen anyone form the Order all weekend, they're all busy. It's just been Kreacher and me here..."

"So you haven't had any news about Hagrid, either?" Lavi asked.

"Ah...well, he was supposed to be back by now, no one's sure what's happened to him," Sirius said. He took one look at Harry, Ron, and Hermione's faces and added hastily, "But Dumbledore's not worried, so don't you three get yourselves in a state; I'm sure Hagrid's fine."

"But if he was supposed to be back by now..." Hermione said weakly, quietly.

"Madame Maxime was with him, we've been in touch with her and she says they got separated on the journey home- but there's nothing to suggest he's hurt or- well, nothing to suggest he's not perfectly okay."

"Who's Madame Maxime?" Allen asked.

"The headmistress of the French school, Beaxbatons," Lenalee answered. "She was at Hogwarts last year for the Triwizard Tournament, during which Voldemort came back."

"Precisely," Sirius said, nodding. He looked at Harry, who was looking back with worry. "Listen, don't go asking too many questions about Hagrid, it'll just draw even more attention to the fact that he's not back, and I know Dumbledore doesn't want that. Hagrid's tough, he'll be okay...When's your next Hogsmeade weekend anyway? I was thinking, we got away with the dog disguise at the station, didn't we? I thought we could-"

"NO!" Harry and Hermione said in unison, loudly, making Allen jump into Lavi again.

"Sirius, didn't you see the _Daily Prophet?"_ Hermione asked, osunding hurried and panicked.

"Oh that, they're always guessing where I am, they haven't got a clue-"

"Yeah, but we think this time they have," Harry said. "Something Malfoy said on teh train made us think he knew it was you, and his father was on the platform, Sirius- you know, Lucius Malfoy- so don't come up here, whatever you do, if Malfoy recognizes you again-"

"Alright, alright, I got the point," Sirius said, his eyes dark. "Just an idea, thought you might like to get together-"

"I would, I just don't want you chucked back in Azkaban!"

Sirius didn't meet Harry's eyes. "The risk would've been what made it fun for James."

"Look-"

"Well," Sirius said, interrupting Harry, "I'd better get going, I can hear Kreacher coming down the stairs." Allen got the distinct feeling that Sirius was lying, and from the look on Harry's face, he did as well. "I'll write to tell you a time I can make it back into the fire, then, shall I? If you can stand to risk it?"

With a final, longing glance at his godson and a tiny _pop_, Sirius Black disappeared into the flames.


	16. The High Inquisitor

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Sixteen: The High Inquisitor

* * *

**Disclaimers: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

Monday morning, Lavi and Allen were surprised to see Lenalee collecting an issue of the _Daily Prophet _from  
a dirty screech owl. They hadn't a clue how she'd ordered one. 

"Good morning, guys," the girl greeted and got up from the table. "I have to show this to Komui, come with me."

"What happened?" Allen asked as they passed by the Hufflepuff table. Lenalee motioned to Krory and Miranda, who caught up to them with worried faces. Upon reaching the Ravenclaw table, the five of them walked up to Komui and Kanda.

"Oh, Lenalee!" Komui exclaimed happily the moment he caught sight of his younger sister. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, Komui," the girl answered. "I want to show you something, could we go outside?"

The young man's face took on a serious shadow. He looked into the eyes of all the Exorcists and said, "Alright, let's go. Come on, Kanda!"

"Cheh, don't act so friendly with me," the Japanese man said grimly, but followed nonetheless.

"Did- did something happen, Lenalee?" Miranda asked nervously. "Something...bad?"

"Well, it depends on who reads it," the girl answered.

Kanda tsked in Allen's ear. "It's about that Umbridge hag, isn't it?" he asked. "Who else?"

Komui and Lenalee exchanged glances. "Someone much worse than Dolores Umbridge, maybe," the older brother answered, "someone like Lord Voldemort or the Millenium Earl."

"Thankfully, or unthankfully, it _is _about Umbridge," Lenalee sighed. She and her brother led the Exorcists into the shade of a tree out on the school grounds where she showed everyone the _Daily Prophet._ On the front page, in big bold letters was the headline:

**MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM**

**DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED FIRST-EVER "HIGH INQUISITOR"**

"What does that mean?" Krory asked, peering at Umbridge's toady, smiling face. "And this newspaper has moving pictures!"

"That's beside the point," Kanda grumbled.

"_In a surprise move last night the Ministry of Magiv passed new legislation giving itself an unprecedented level of control at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy,"_ Allen read.

Lavi leaned over the white haired boy's shoulder and continuted._ "'The Minister has been growing uneasy about going-ons at Hogwarts for some time,' said Junior Assistant to the Minister, Percy Weasley. 'He is now responding to concerns voiced by anxious parents, who feel the school may be moving in a direction they do not approve.'" _

"In other words," Lenalee sighed, "they're trying to take control of things at Hogwarts. Here, listen:

_"This is not the first time in recent weeks Fudge has used new laws to effect improvements at the Wizarding school. As recently as August 30th Educational Decree Twenty-two was passed, to ensure that, in the event of the current headmaster being unable to provide a candidate for a teaching post, the Ministry should select an appropriate person._

_"' That's how Dolores Umbridge came to be appointed to the teaching staff at Hogwarts,' said Weasley last night. 'Dumbledore couldn't find any-one, so the Minister put in Umbridge and of course, she's been an immediate success-"_

"Hear hear," Lavi said sarcastically. "We absolutely,_ adore _Umbridge, don't we?"

"Sh!" Allen said. "There's more.

"_'-an immediate success...totally revolutionizing the teaching of Defense Against the Dark Arts and providing the Minister with on-the-ground feedback about what's really happening at Hogwarts,'" _Allen read. "_It is this last function that the Ministry ahs now formalized with the passing of Educational Decree Number Twenty-three, which creates the new position of 'Hogwarts High Inquisitor.' _

_"'This is an exciting new phase in the Minister's plan to get to grips with what some are calling the "falling standards" at Hogwarts,' said Weasley. 'The Inquisitor will have powers to inspect her fellow educators and make sure they are coming up to scratch. Professor Umbridge has been offered this position in addition to her own teaching post, and we are delighted to say that she has accepted.'"_

_"The Ministry's new moves have received enthusiastic support from parents of students at Hogwarts,"_ Komui said, taking the papers gently ffrom his sister and adjusting his glasses. Krory and Miranda gathered around them as the others listened grimly._ "'I feel much easier in my mind now that I know that Dumbledore is being subjected to fair and objective evaluation,' said Mr. Lucius Malfoy, 41, speaking from his Wiltshire mansion last night. 'Many of us with our children's best interests at heart have been concerned about some of Dumbledore's eccentric decisions in the last few years and will be glad to know that the Ministry is keeping an eye on the situation.'"_

"Well," Allen said lowly, "that coming from that Draco Malfoy's father is understandable."

"You mean that twig with the greasy blond hair in Slytherin?" Kanda asked. "Cheh. That guy was a total idiot."

"You know him?" Lenalee and Komui asked in surprise.

Lavi was giggling like a little boy bursting with the excitement of keeping something a secret. "Draco Malfoy made fun of Yu's ponytail before," he said brightly, "and Yu almost cut off his nose." The samurai clicked his tongue in irritation and didn't meet anyone's eyes.

Krory stared at Kanda and Lavi for a while before he looked down at the _Prophet _again. "_Among those 'eccentric decisions' are undoubtedly the controversional staff appointements previously described in this newspaper, which have included the hiring of werewolf Remus Lupin, hald-giant Rubeus Hagrid (_"No wonder he was so huge," Lavi said.), _and dlusional ex-Auror, 'Mad-Eye' Moody._

_Rumors abound, of course, that Albus Dumbledore, once Supreme Mugwump of the International Confedration of Wizards and Chief Warlock of the Wizangamot, is no longer up to the task of managing the prestigious school of Hogwarts."_

"But," Miranda said, "Dumbledore is such a wonderful, kind person...even to me..."

Komui patted her on the shoulder and continued where Krory left off. "_'I think the appointment of the Inquisitor is a first step toward ensuring that Hogwarts has a headmaster in whom we can all repose confidence,' said a Ministry insider last night," _he read. "_Wizengamot elders Griselda Marchbanks and Tiberius Odgen have resigned in protest at the introduction of the post of Inquisitor to Hogwarts._

_"'Hogwarts is a school, not an outpost of Cornelius Fudge's office,' said Madam Marchbanks. 'This is a further disgusting attempt to discredit Albus Dumbledore.' (For a full account of Mada Marchbank's alleged links to subversive goblin groups, turn to page 17)..."_

The Exorcists all stared at their chief supervisor, as if the man would have some kind of answer for them. But Komui Lee, in all his glory and inteligence, was lost as well, and they could tell.

"Well," Allen said, "it's all the more difficult for us. A stronger barrier that Dumbledore can't undo, and now Umbridge has the power to rip off our disguise at any second. She's probably already got an eye on us with our uniforms too..."

"Right," Lavi sighed, and Lenalee nodded. "But shan't we hurry now? If she's going to be inspecting any of our classes, it's a lot better if we get there on time."

"Yes, yes," Komui said, folding the _Prophet _and handing it to Lenalee. "You guys should go. Miranda and I will be Dumbledore's office as usual, and Krory, you'll be at the greenhouses, correct?"

"Y-yes," Arystar Krory answered. "I shall be there."

"Then we'll all see each other safe and sound soon enough, won't we? If you see any Akuma..."

"We won't be able to tell," Kanda finished and walked off. "I'm going to class."

"This mission is kind of hopeless," Lavi said, ruffling his hair. "I'm off, too, see you. Wait for me! Yu!"

"We'll be going too, Komui," Lenalee said to her brother, smiling at his worried face. "We'll be alright, don't fret. Come on, Allen."

"Oh, okay," the boy said, following the girl as she started off down the grass. Komui and Kanda's voices rang in his ears...

_If you see any Akuma..._

_We won't be able to tell..._

Allen felt his cursed eye throb and pulse. Mana's curse, it had saved many lives before, and now it might be failing...

_Please protect us, Mana,_ Allen thought desperately. _Please help me protect everyone, please, Dad..._

_Don't fail on me now, of all times...  
_

The two Exorcists didn't know whether they were relieved or not when they didn't see Umbridge in History of Magic, which still failed to be exciting. The toady woman was not in the cold dungeons for Snape's Potions class, where they were passed back their moonstone essays.

If it was because Snape couldn't care less what their grades were, Allen and Lenalee both received an 'E' for their essays. Apparently, an 'E' wasn't a bad grade, for Ron's jaw dropped upon seeing the grade. "Holy cricket! That's the second best grade you could get!" he gasped.

"I have awarded you the grades you would have received if you presented this work in your O.W.L.," Snape drawled, but Allen was having a hard time listening. The air was icy, in a different way from the usual coolness of the classroom.

The feeling sent shivers down his spine, and his blood started to boil as his heart began to flutter, then pound, in his chest. His left eye activated on its own, looking around, through walls, through people, down the corridor, until it landed on one student with a ghost like shadow floating over his head...a _lost soul..._

_"_An Akuma," Allen whispered. He was positive, his eye wasn't lying to him this time, that was, unfortunately or fortunately, truly and honestly an Akuma. And from the way the soul was acting, it was a Level II.

"Mr. Walker, may I ask you _what _you are standing up for?" Snape's oily voice cut through his thoughts like an icy knife.

Allen jumped and whipped around to face Severus Snape, who was peering at him suspiciously. "I- I," Allen sttutered.

"Yes?"

The boy closed his mouth, took a deep breath, and whispered, "Sir, there's an enemy wandering the halls."

"If there was, we wouldn't be sitting here calmly, would we be?" Snape wasn't bothering to stay silent. "Now, I would appreciate if you'd sit down, Mr. Walker."

"You can't see an Akuma, professor," Allen replied quietly, and the teacher raised an eyebrow. "Only I can, and I'm saying I see an Akuma out there." His eye was reacting violently, twitching, and he felt the Akuma's presense coming closer and closer.

_Please don't come here now, I won't be able to fight in here..._

_"_Professor, you do care, don't you, whether or not these students die or not? Please let me fight the Akuma, or else there will be casualties," the Exorcist said, panic creeping up his body, making him shiver.

"Well, now, what shall I do?" the teacher asked, clearly enjoying tormenting the boy, not understanding, at all, how dangerous Akuma oculd be, especially a Level II...

And it was right outside the door, and the door was creaking open...

_Too late..._

"Lenalee! The door! It's right by the door!" Allen yelled, just as an explosion attacked the classroom. Students screamed.

"I got it!" the girl responded in a flash, and was flying across the room in a moment, driving the Akuma out of the classroom as she attacked with her Innocence, her anti-Akuma weapon, the Dark Boots.

"Is anybody hurt?" Allen heard Harry call out, but he knew nobody was hit by the attacks. If there were any casualties, the body would have become dust by now, and a poisonous gas would be filling up the classroom, and there was nothing of that sort.

"You see, Professor?" he said to the teacher, who was staring in shock and wonder at his destroyed classroom. "I don't know if Dumbledore'd told you, but Akuma attack, and you can't cure anyone once their bullets hit them. I hope you do not risk your students' lives again."

"Allen," Hermione said weakly, shivering in fright and clinging to Ron as if he was her lifeline. "What was that?"

"An Akuma?" Harry asked. "_That _was an Akuma? I saw it before everything exploded, and it...it looked just like a student."

_To think that the Earl's hands would reach into this castle so far already, _Allen thought sadly. "That used to be a student, but now it's an Akuma wearing his skin. Harry, I'm going to go assist Lenalee. _Don't make a sound, hide._"

"A-alright," the boy answered, gulping, but Allen was already out in the hall.

"Timcampy, go get Miranda and Krory, hopefully Umbridge isn't in Herbology. I'm more than sure Kanda and Lavi will be here soon, that was one great explosion." The golden golem gave a nod and flew away. Up ahead, around the corner, outside the window, Allen could hear the unmistable noise of an Akuma's cannons. His eye was going mad; there were more Akuma in the vicinity, and all of them were Level II's.

_So much for not getting detected,_ Allen thought. _Umbridge is going to kick us out, I'm sure of it. Let's just hope none of us dies.  
_

Just then, the window he was passing by shattered in his face, nearly stabbing his eye out and making a large gash in his cheek. Warm, sticky blood oozed down his face as Allen did an about-face and jumped out of the window, seeing the battle below.

"Hey, Allen!" a voice called from above.

"Look up, Moyashi!" an irritating, familiar voice.

"I knew you'd come," Allen said gratefully, activating his left arm and landing on the Akuma's head, looking around. There were at least thirty Akuma hovering around them, all thirsty for blood and the sensation of death.

"This is going to be along battle," Lavi commented.

"Troublesome monsters," Kanda complained just as Lenalee landed full-force on the Akuma beside them, destroying it.

"Thanks for coming, guys!" she said, dodging a bullet. "I couldn't take down all this on my own."

"I'm betting you three Galleons that we're going to get expelled," Lavi said to Allen as they leaped away from the Akuma they were on, Allen destroying it with his arm.

"Get out of my way, you idiots!" Kanda yelled at them, swinging his sword. "_Mugen_..._saiaku shourai..."_

"Hey, wait!" Allen yelped as he and Lavi scurried away. "Don't kill us!"

"_Kaichuu 'Ichigen!'" _

Apparently, Kanda wasn't going to bother listening to Allen as he destroyed several Akuma at once.

"We can't let Kanda take all the credit, at the least," Lavi said, reaching into the pouch tied to his leg and taking out a tiny hammer. "Big hammer, little hammer, grow"- the hammer increased in size- "grow"- it grew three times larger- "grow!" The hammer was as large as one of the castle's towers. "Let's get started, shall we, Akuma?"

"Lavi! Don't recklessly throw yourself at a Level II!" Allen gasped as the older boy jumped into battle. But he lost sight of Lavi as a group of Akuma attacked him as well. "Arg...cutting and slashing them one by one isn't going to help me at all..."

There were just too many Akuma. Whenever they destroyed once, at least three would come and take its place. They needed more help. Where was Krory? Miranda? The Akuma began to shoot at him altogether. He was able to dodge them all, but it was all a matter of time before he ran out of stamina. If only they'd stop moving so much-

"Time Out!"

Maybe God was on his side this time. The Akuma froze in space, trapped in the midst of Miranda Lotto's powers. Allen took a moment to catch himself in time, caught off guard by the sudden lack of movement. "Wow," he whispered in awe.

"Stop slacking off and get to work, brat," a gruff voice said, and Arystar Krory began to destroy the Akuma.

"Oh, right," Allen nodded, slightly disturbed by the older Exorcist as he sucked out the Akuma's blood with his teeth. Allen couldn't help but be glad, as a fellow parasite-type accomdator of the Innocence, that _his _weapon was not his teeth.

In the distance, Lavi was dancing and enjoying his battle with twenty or so Akuma. Swinging his enlarged, oversized hammer, he yelled, "_Hi ban: Gouka Kaijin!" _and a huge, fiery serpent swallowed the Akuma whole. Lenalee was fighting with Kanda, both of them destroying their handful of Akuma with swift slashes and powerful kicks.

"I'm full now," Krory said, landing beside Allen. "Now why odn't you make yourself useful and finish them all off?"

Allen nodded, raising his arm. "I'll do that," he said, and jumped into the air. Gathering the Innocence's holy power into one attack, he gathered his strength and yelled, "Cross Grave!"

He knew he'd just destroyed every Akuma in the vicinity, every single one of them was gone. He also knew that Lavi, Lenalee, and Kanda were not expecting their prey to disappear in a flash of holy, silver light. He heard them yell and cry out in surprise.

"What the-?" Lenalee gasped.

"Where did the Akuma go?" Lavi exclaimed.

"_Moyashi!_" Allen didn't feel the need to try identifying who _that _was.

"Yes?" he drawled out.

"What did you just do?" Kanda demanded angrily. Seeing that he had grass in his black hair, Allen guessed that he had fallen rather clumsily when the Akuma had disappeared.

Suppressing a laugh, Allen replied coolly, "I destroyed Akuma, Kanda, because I am an Exorcist."

"You...you..."

"Great going, Allen!" Lenalee and Lavi cheered. The girl sobered instantly though. "Was anyone hurt in the classroom?"

"No, thankfully."

"That's good, but..."

"Yeah."

"Do you think-"

"You _do _realize we screwed up this mission big time, don't you?" Kanda asked, his eyebrow twitching.

"W-w-we did...?" Miranda stammered. "I-i-is it my fault...?"

"No!" Lenalee said. "It's not, Miranda, don't worry."

Timcampy fluttered around Krory's head, sensing the tension. The man was staring into space. "Eliade..." he muttered.

The Exorcists all looked at each other and sighed.

"We're going to get expelled, aren't we?" Allen muttered.

* * *

Hi readers-

I really can't believe I'm actually posting two chapters on the same day. When I was first writing this, it was supposed to be a bit of a 'filler' chapter, but I guess it turned out to be a bit of a turning point for our Exorcists now. I think, from now on, the Black Order wouldn't be working in small groups but working as one group...maybe.


	17. Expulsion

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Seventeen: Expulsion

* * *

**Disclaimers: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

"Obviously, I'd have been _thrilled _if I'd gotten an O-" 

"Hermione, if you want to know what grades we got, ask."

"I don't- I mean- well, if you want to tell me-"

"I got a P. Happy?"

Allen, Lenalee, and Lavi stared at Ron and Hermione as they, followed by a daydreaming Harry, sat down at the Gryffindor table. Lavi didn't respond when the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan walked up and greeted him, but Fred, George and Lee didn't seem to mind.

"Well, that's nothing to be ashamed of," Fred told him brother, referring to the grade. "Nothing wrong with a good healthy P."

"But," Hermione said, "doesn't P stand for..."

"'Poor,' yeah," Lee Jordan said. "Still, better than D, isn't it?"

Harry coughed violently, his face red. Allen and his friends tuned out the conversation as their minds fell on the dreadful thought of a possible expulsion. The Akumas sure did ruin their mission...

"...Umbridge just lurked in the corner..." one of the twins said, and the Exorcists twitched violently.

"Let's just go to class early," Lenalee muttered, and the boys followed. "Lavi- you're in a different class."

"Oh, right. Sorry, see you."

"Bye," Allen and Lenalee waved. They began walking down the hall towards the North Tower, and Allen said, "This is bad, isn't it?"

"Very," Lenalee agreed. "I can't believe I failed my brother..."

"Well, there's a chance Umbridge might not have noticed it," Allen said brightly, but one look from Lenalee and he sighed. "Well, I guess a one in a million chance."

"Zero," Lenalee corrected.

"But it wasn't really our fault, was it?" Allen asked. _Or was it my fault because my eye was failing?_ he thought in worry.

"Not really," Lenalee answered, "because it's the barrier's fault your eye is...well, at least it wasn't lying this time."

"We're blessed that nobody died, aren't we?"

"Very."

"I don't want to go to Divinatio right now, what if Umbridge is in there?" Allen asked.

"We'll survive," Lenalee said, "but I'm very afraid that she is going to be in Trelawney's class. I have a hunch."

"Well, good afternoon, Mr. Walker, Miss Lee," a dreamy voice greeted the moment the said two climbed through the trapdoor into the stuffy, perfumed classroom. Professor Trelawney, clad in her usual shawls, smiled at them. "I Saw you coming. I See you are both not in your best moods?"

The Exorcists flushed. "Oh, no, um, we're doing great," Allen lied hastily, and he and Lenalee sat down together at a table in the shadows.

"I myself am antsy, although I am sure that my noble art of Divination will surely impress our High Inquisitor," the teacher breezed past their table, adjusing the candles on the wall.

"She's coming for inspection?" Lenalee asked. Trelawney nodded curtly. "Oh, my..."

"So, no sleeping in class, huh?" Allen sighed. "Great."

"Hi you guys," Harry and Ron said, sitting down beside them gloomy two. "What's wrong?"

"You know what's wrong," the Exorcists said in unison. They looked around the classroom, which was starting to fill up slowly, for the squat shadow of Dolores Umbridge, but didn't see her. Probably she was going to be the last one in.

"I'm pretty sure the whole school heard the commotion," Ron said, shrugging.

"That's not good, is it?" Harry asked, seeing the tormented looks on Allen and Lenalee's faces. The latter two shook their heads.

"What could be so bad about a commotion?" Ron questioned cluelessly. "I mean, it was-"

Allen sent the red haired boy a grim look. "I'll give you a hint: if the whole school heard, so. Did. Umbridge."

The color drained from Ron and Harry's faces. "You're a goner," Harry muttered.

"Ah," Allen groaned, "I could see my Master and his hammer...I can see Narein, Mana..."

"What's he talking about?" Ron asked.

"I think he's having a flashback of traumatic moments," Lenalee said. "Allen, get a hold of yourself, I'm sure nothing could get any worse-"

"Good afternoon, Professor Trelawney," a girlish voice cut through the dull chatter inside the classroom, and the foursome looked up abruptly. The squat figure of Dolores Umbridge filled their sight, her wide, sneaky, toady smile aimed happily at Lenalee and Allen before turning to Trelawney, who looked distracted and angry. "You received by note, I trust? Giving the time and date of your inspection?"

Umbridge was rewarded by a short nod from Trelawney, who turned her back and returned to handing out copies of the _Dream Oracles _to the students. The High Inquisitor sat neatly, a clipboard on her lap, waiting for class to begin.

Trelawney was nervous, that much was obvious. Her hands trembled, and her eyes seemed wider, rounder, and just large with fear through her thick glasses. "Divide into pairs, please, and interpret each other's latest nighttime visions with the aid of the _Oracle."_

Allen and Lenalee watched as Trelawney made as if to walk over to her seat, and then did a one-eighty upon seeing Umbridge sitting near her desk. Instead, the teacher steered herself towards Lavendar Brown and Parvati Patil, who were discussing Lavendar's most recent dream, totally absorbed in the lesson. The toady woman sat for a few minutes jotting down notes on her clipboard, then stood up and began trailing after Trelawneylistening to the teacher's conversations with students and sometimes asking questions.

"What kind of dream did you have recently?" Lenalee asked suddenly, flipping through her book page by page. Umbridge and Trelawney were a few steps away from their table.

"Oh, a dream that...that...I don't remember," Allen answered. "What about you?"

Lenalee shrugged. "It's still the same dream as usual, the world ending," she muttered.

"Oh, right, then I guess I should make up one," Allen said. "Let's just use my usual excuse: Jeryy."

The Exorcists began looking through the _Oracle _to interpret Allen's fake dream. They'd just come up with a possible explanation for it when Trelawney and Umbridge came to a stop by their table. The latter was asking a question.

"Now," she said, "you've been in this post how long, exactly?"

Trelawney looked as if she wanted to banish Umbridge then and there, probably offended by the inspection. After a moment, she said in a low voice, "Nearly sixteen years."

"Quite a period," Umbridge noted. "So it was Dumbledore who appointed you?"

"That's right."

"And you are a great-great-granddaughter of the celebrated Seer Cassandra Trelawney?"

"Yes," Trelawney seemed to get a bit of her pride back.

Another note. "But I thin- correct me if I'm mistaken- that you are the first in the family since Cassandra to be possessed of second sight?" Umbridge asked.

"These things often skip- er- three generations," Trelawney replied.

"Of course," Umbridge cooed, her smile ever the more wider, if possible. "Well, if you could just predict something for me, then?"

"I don't understand you," Trelawney said, looking offended.

"I'd like you to make a prediction for me."

Allen and Lenalee looke up from their books, then looked down, feeling pity for the teacher. Allen, tired from the previous battle and lack of food -he hadn't been able to eat anything earlier- dropped his head on his book as Lenalee leaned her cheek on her hand, closing her eyes. There was an uptight silence before Trelawney's shaking voice snapped, "The Inner Eye does not See upon command!"

"I see," the scratching noise of quill on paper.

"I- but- but..._wait! _I...I think I _do _see something...something that concerns _you..._Why, I sense something...something dark...some grave peril...

"I am agraid..I am afraid you are in grave danger!"

"...Right," Umbridge said slowly. "Well, if that's really the best you can do..."

Allen peeked through his white bangs as the toady woman turned away from Trelawney and took notes. He was watching her for about a minute before she glanced down at him and sneered evilly. Leaning down, the woman whispered, "I'd like to see you and your _friends _in Professor Dumbledore's office tonight."

Allen gulped. One dreadful thought ran through his mind. _Mission: failed._

Defense Against the Dark Arts passed in a dull gray blur of movement and Dolores Umbridge's annoying, frightening smile. Allen barely heard as Harry got into another shouting match with the teacher, but he was vaguely aware that he received another week of detention with her, and was seething as the bell rang. He and Lenalee were told to stay in the classroom by Umbridge, who took her precious time to clean up from lessons and lead them through the school gathering up every Exorcist from their classes, none of whom seemed confused as to why she was calling them, although Kanda sent her one of his best dath glares, which was promptly ignored as she led them to Dumbledore's office.

"Ah, Professor Umbrige," Dumbledore said pleasantly as they walked into the circular room, "to what may I owe this fantastic visit?"

"Good evening, headmaster."

"Allen, what is going on?" Komui asked from his place in a pile of books and files. "Lenalee?"

"Did something happen?" Dumbledore asked.

"These children have caused a wreck in the school grounds ealier today," Umbridge accused, but at the same time sounding as if she was reporting the weather. "They have skipped class to do so as well, and Professor Snape's classroom had been completely destroyed." Dumbledore nodded, and she took it as a sign to continue. "Headmaster, I would like, as High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, to have these students expelled from this school."

_I knew this was coming, _Allen thought in dismay.

Dumbledore was peering at Umbridge in curiosity. "Professor, I'm afraid that, in the past, there have been many cases of explosions on this campus."

"They were fighting some kind of _monster,_" Umbridge argued. "It is an _outrage! _Honestly, Headmaster, along with Harry Potter, now these people-?"

Dumbledore remained calm despite Umbridge's sudden, desperate and angry tone. He sat straight in his chair, watching the seething teacher, then turned to Allen, who couldn't stand to meet those electric blue eyes, but couldn't stand to look away either. They were so calm- what was going on behind those spectacles, inside that wise mind? Was he planning to dismiss them? Or was he...?

"Professor Umbridge," the old man said, turning back to Umbridge. "As High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, it is up to you who will be expelled or not. If you feel you must dismiss them from our list of students, you may do so."

Umbridge nodded quickly and began to turn around, her trademark smile on her face. "Yes, Headmaster. Now, you children shall-"

"But," Dumbledore cut in calmly, raising a finger to stop Umbridge, "they are, as well as being students, my guests, and although you, as the High Inquisitor, may have the right to dismiss a student, I do not think that there was any decree passed that you be able to send my guests away from the castle. The reason being, of course, that guests are a personal issue, and the Ministry, depsite its powers, still does not have any right to meddle with it."

"But," Umbridge sputtered. She glared at the Exorcists, and said, "why would your guests be a group of young children- a group of delinquents, at that matter!"

"Oh ho," Kanda said in amusement, raising his eyebrows as he leaned against the wall of the office, "a group of delinquents, you say?" A painting of one of the past headmasters of Hogwarts shushed at him, but the samurai merely knocked on the frame until the man scurried into his next-painting neighbor, seething angrily. "Well, excuse _you_, oh great Madam High Inquisitor."

"Kanda, be quiet!" Allen and Lenalee hissed.

Dumbledore surveyed Umbridge quietly, waiting for her to say something. Komui had picked himself off the floor and was now standing beside his sister, who was looking at him apologetically. Komui, seeing the look on Lenalee's face, smiled at her reassuringly. "It's okay, Lenalee, everyone," he whispered.

"Very well," Umbridge said at last. "Your guests may stay, but they are no longer allowed to attend classes with the rest of our students, and-"

"-Because they will be spending most of their stays with me, they will have a limited time of contact with the rest of our students," Dumbledore finished, although that was obviously not what Umbridge was meaning to say, "and they will be staying in their dormitories in the houses they have been Sorted into. You do not have inconveniences with that, do you, Professor?"

"I- but," Umbridge said.

"Yes?"

Umbridge looked furious as she spun on her heels and marched out of the office. Allen and Lavi watched as she slammed the door behind her, exchanged glances, and sighed in relief at the same time. Lavi must have been ver nervous, or dramatic, as he leaned on Allen and Kanda's shoulders muttering about being blessed, saved, or whatever. Komui was shaking Dumbledore's hand and thanking him, while Lenalee stood behind her brother, smiling at Dumbledore. Miranda looked ready to faint, and Krory must've sensed it for he was standing behind her, glancing her way every other second.

"Everyone's going to be so surprised," Lavi muttered. "This is- what?- our third week here? We're already expelled."

Kanda tsked, and Allen didn't say anything. Komui and Lenalee turned away from Dumbledore and opened the door of the office, motioning to the boys, Krory, and Miranda to follow. They all bid good night to Dumbledore and returned to their respective dorrmitories.

Tuesday morning came violently with Angelina Johnson shouting at Harry at the top of her lungs. In the end, McGonagall took away five points from Gryffindor, and Harry took out his irritation on Hermione, ignoring her for the rest of breakfast. Allen, Lenalee, and Lavi were given pieces of parchment by a Ravenclaw second year, who looked at them curiously before walking away.

"It's from Komui," Lavi said, looking at the neat, squiggly handwriting on his parchment. "He says for me and Allen to look through the Restricted section in the library- what about you, Lenalee?"

"It says for me to help Professor Dumbledore with Miranda," said girl answered.

Students were slowly starting to file out of the Great Hall for their first class of the day. In the distance, Allen saw Kanda move swifly over to the staff table where he spoke to McGonagall, then disappeared through a back door. Krory and Komui were already gone, and Miranda was standing by the Hufflepuff table, looking lost. Lenalee bid the boys good bye and walked away.

"Shall we get going as well? Allen asked Lavi as he finished up his tenth pancake. Lavi snapped out of his stupor (no matter how long we worked with Allen, he would never get used to the boy's great appettite) and nodded.

"Where are you two going?" Hermione asked the boys, narrowing her eyes. "Did something happen with Umbridge after class yesterday?"

"Great guess, Hermione," Ron said, "of _course _something happened, the teacher took them to Dumbledore's office, or that's what Fred said, at least, that Lavi and that Kanda were caught like a mouse by the teacher after their last class."

Allen scratched his head uncertainly. "Well, you see, we kind of got...expelled?"

"_What?_" Hermione asked in a hushed voice, goggling at them with her eyes spread to the size of saucers.

"That Akuma from yesterday," Lavi sighed, downing a goblet of water in one large gulp, "Umbridge saw us, apparently, and said that we were- what was it again?"

"A 'group of delinquents,'" Allen quoted. "We 'caused a wreck'-"

"-'skipped class'-"

"-and 'destroyed Professor Snape's classroom'-"

"-so thus she wanted us expelled," Lavi concluded, "but Dumbledore kept us inside this castle as his guests, and now we're going to the library to help out our poor supervisor with his research on Innocence in this- your- world."

Allen stood up from the table, wiping his mouth with a napkin. Dropping the cloth onto his cleaned plate, he said, "We'd better get going now. We'll be seeing you around."

"See you!" Lavi called as the two of them left the Great Hall. "At least we'll have more freedom when it comes to destroying Akuma," he reasoned.

"True," the boy replied, "but we're not exactly welcomed to roaming the halls, Umbridge won't believe us even if we truthfully say that we're partolling..."

The two boys entered the library. Dumbledore must have told the librarian about their staying, for Madam Pince led them into the Restricted Section without a question when they entered, then closed the door behind them and returned to her desk where she promtly opened a book that so fat it would've made Hermione happy.

Lavi and Allen looked around the bookshelves during the next half hour, grabbing any book that gave a hint of a connection to the Innocence, the Earl, or the wars. There were a lot more than they'd expected, and Lavi sometimes exclaimed that some of the authors were past Bookmen, or that some mentioned the Black Order, although it almost always used a different name to refer to them. Allen was amused by Lavi' excitement, but he was surprised as well when he found a book with a list of past prophecies- and found the phrase "the destroyer of time" mentioned in it. None of the books, though, said if the war between the Earl and the Black Order ended.

"Well, figures," Lavi told Allen, "because the war's still going on, isn't it?"

About an hour after they started their research, they still couldn't find a single book that said anything about Innocence causing any strange occurences in the past century. Lavi and Allen had read through nearly thirty books each, all of which had at least three hundred pages, and were now randomly looking at books on magical creatures and famous wizards. Maybe one of them would have something to do with the Innocence.

"_A History of Great Wizards...Magical Creatures and How To Nurture Them..." _Allen muttered, reading title after title book after book. "_Magical Stones and Crystals: How They May Effect the World- _wait a minute!"

Allen grabbed the book and sat down on the floor, opening the heavy book to the index at the very back. Running his finger down the page, Allen scanned the 'I' section, his heart pounding. He bit his tongue to stop himself form whooping and cheering. His finger rested beside one word. It said, in tiny, thin script. The word, Innocence.

"Hey, Allen?" Lavi asked as he poked his head around a corner. "What you doing on the ground?"

"Lavi, I found it," Allen said, his voice shaking. "Innocence. I found something on Innocence, in this book."

"Really?" Lavi gasped. He nearly skipped over an dropped onto the floor beside Allen. "We have a whole section on the Innocence in this book! Let's take a look."

Allen nodded and turned to the first page listed after 'Innocence', and the two boys found themselves at the beginning of a chapter titled, _The Innocence and Dark Matter.  
_

Bingo.

"Let's check this book out," Lavi said, "and read this while we have time. I think we should go find ourselves a book about the Noahs, if we could fine one."


	18. In the Library

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Eighteen: In the Hogwarts Library...

* * *

**Disclaimers: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

"Look, Allen! Here it is:_ The Clan of the Noah," _Lavi said proudly as he held up an old, leather book. "It was pretty easy, neh?" 

Allen nodded, looking up form where he was reading _Magical Creatures and How To Nurture Them_. "At first I wondered why this was in this section," he said when Lavi sent him a confused look, as the subject of the book obviously had nothing to do with what they were supposed to be looking for. "I think this was put in this section after the Sirius Black case, the last time it was checked out, it was by Hagrid two years ago, and it's no wonder why- see?"

Lavi leaned over Allen's shoulder and read: _'Each and every creature listed in this book has a Ministry of Magic Classification of XXX or more'..._What's this?"

"It's a list of magical creatures," Allen said, "and it's probably where Hagrid got ideas for his lessons during his first year, and it was put into the restricted section, chained to the shelf, after his Hippogriff lesson (I heard that from one of the paintings). I guess the Ministry of Magic didn't want anyone finding and taking in any of these creatures for pets. It says here that creatures with a M.O.M. Classification of over XXX is considered dangerous and deadly."

"Nice," Lavi said, stretching out the word. "It's got dragons in here too!"

"Harry told me Hagrid tried to play mom to a baby Norwegian Ridgeback in their first year at Hogwarts," Allen said with a shrug.

"No matter this book was put into the Restricted Section," Lavi said, glancing at the small stack of books Allen had next to him. "_A History of Great Wizards?"_ he asked.

"'Great' as in 'evil,' apparently," the boy replied. "It had several wizards that sounded like lunatics or devils- I wonder why my master's not in there..."

"Because he's not exactly a wizard, isn't it?"

"The book was written by quite a person as well. He explained very enthusiastically, in detail, how all of the bad wizards plotted to destroy humanity- and some of them happened to be similar to what Voldemort's followers, the Death Eaters, had been doing. That's probably why it was put in here."

"At first glance the book looks so innocent," Lavi muttered. "It reminds me of you."

"_What?_ Why?" Allen squeaked.

"Never mind. What bothers me, though, is why Umbridge just listened to Dumbledore last night," Lavi said, and sat down.

"Oh, about letting us stay in this castle?" Allen asked, shutting the book.

"Yep."

"Don't you remember what Sirius said the other night?"

"Yes, about how they're scared of Dumbledore making his own private army, right?" Lavi said, folding his arms and leaning on the table they were sitting at. "But Allen, don't you think Umbridge's _not_ insisting we get kicked out of here goes against the Minister's fear? If Dumbledore himself went out of his way to keep us in this castle after we made such a ruckus in his school, after a whole class nearly got killed by some explosion that we were obviously involved with, I think that's, like, the biggest hint for the Ministry. It should have been _obvious _that we could possibly be the trump card in Dumbledore's so-called army, and Umbridge would probably have called in the Minister right then and there. So why didn't she?"

"Now that you tell me...it is strange, isn't it?"

"Don't you think we should tell Dumbledore about this? Komui, too?"

Allen leaned his head on the table, closing his eyes in thought. "No, Lavi, I don't think so," he answered slowly. "I'm sure they've both noticed it by now, and besides, worrying about it is not going to help us a bit- it's not like Umbridge is _not _determined to try kicking us out of this castle with any lame excuse. Even if we wonder and rack our brains about it, it's not going to lessen the threat we have looming over us at all."

Lavi shuffled in his seat, and Allen heard him make a stack out of the books on the table. "Alright," the red haired boy said, although he sounded unconvinced. "We won't tell Dumbledore, not yet. Even though I have no idea why."

Allen smiled. "Thanks, Lavi."

"Heh, sure."

Hours passed by rather dully as Allen and Lavi read through the- possibly- useful books they'd found. _The Clan of the Noah _didn't have any information that they hadn't already heard of, except for a hint about the existence of a "Noah's Ark." _Magical Stones and Crystals: How They May Affect the World _had fifteen pages on the Innocence and Dark Matter, but, like the book on the Noahs, didn't have any news. While Allen reread the _Noah, _cover to cover, for something they may have missed, Lavi yawned as he flipped through _Magical Stones and Crystals. _

"Lavi, please be more serious about this!" Allen said, looking put down. "It's important work!"

"Yeah, yeah I know," Lavi said dismissively, "but rereading something has never been part of my lifestyle. I could read or hear something and remember it precisely, I didn't ever have to read the same book again." He absentmindedly flipped a page and started reading a section on something called the Sorcerer's Stone. Couldn't people think of any better names, honestly...

"The Sorcerer's Stone is said to have been created in the fourteenth century by alchemist Nicolas Flamel...An extraordinary and very powerful magical item, the Stone could transform metal into gold and produce the Elixir of Life, a potion that allowed the drinker to live indefinitely as long as they kept drinking it...Mr. Flamel celebrated his six hundreth twenty-fifth birthday," he read. "Heh, a stone that could make someone live forever...sounds like Innocence, don't it, Allen?"

"Yes, very much, like Lala's case," the boy replied, appearing uninterested, "but it's not an Innocence, it was destroyed by Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel four years ago."

"Where did you hear that-?"

"From Ginny-"

"You've been talking to Ron's sister?" Lavi gasped, looked shocked.

Allen returned a confused face. "Is something wrong, Lavi?"

"No- I mean, yes- I mean, Ron's sister!"

"Yes, and she's also Fred and George's sister as well as one of the people who're on our side," Allen said.

"How popular could you _get_?" Lavi whined.

"Huh?" Allen put down his book and looked at his friend, who was looking back at him with big, surprised green eyes. "What are you talking about, Lavi?"

"You mean you didn't notice, half the girls in Gryffindor have their eyes on you!" Lavi said accusingly. "You and Harry, you're both really famous throughout the school- and Lenalee too, with the boys."

For some reason, Allen felt the temperature in the library rise, and he looked down at his book again. "I doubt it," he said flatly, although he remembered vaguely the whispers and pointed fingers from his classmates, particularly from the girls. Lenalee, he remembered, sometimes posititioned herself between the boys during classes and meals and had always ignored the attempted eye contact from the boys.

"So you've been talking to Ginny Weasley?" Lavi asked once more.

"Yes," Allen repeated. "Several times during the year already, as friends, of course."

"About what?"

Allen snapped the book shut and placed it in front of Lavi. "I don't think Ginny would appreciate me telling anyone, so that would be a closed subject, Lavi," he said with a sigh. "Why don't we get back to talking about the Sorcerer's Stone?"

"Oh, right," the boy said, blinking. He looked at his book once again. "So the Sorcerer's Stone could make the Elixir of Life, sustaining a person's life forever...but it was destroyed four years ago?"

Allen nodded. "Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel had destroyed it, and Flamel, along with his wife, perished not too long afterwards because the Stone was sustaining their lives," he explained.

"But the Innocence..?"

"As far as I know, only the Noahs and the Millenium Earl could destroy it," Allen said. "I saw how powerful Dark Matter is when the Count Tyki Mikk crushed mine right in front of my eyes." He made a face, then shuddered.

"You didn't have to go that far," Lavi said, looking at Allen sympathetically, "if it affects you so much."

The white-haired boy slapped his forehead and shook his head. "I've seen worse, trust me," he muttered. "Anyway, so the Sorcerer's Stone can't be an Innocence, as strange as its powers are."

"So no need to rack my brains about that," Lavi said, turning to another page in the book. "Not that I would, I still treasure my hair."

"What about your hair?" a voice asked suddenly, making the two boys jump.

Lavi nearly fell out of his chair. "Lenalee!" he exclaimed, clutching the front of his shirt and gasping dramatically. "You nearly gave me a heart attack," he wheezed.

The female Exorcist smiled at the boy and looked around them. About ten books were scattered around the boys, some open, some closed, and a fat book was lying on the floor by Lavi's foot with something golden sticking out from under it pages. "What's that, Lavi?" Lenalee asked.

"Huh? Oh, I think it's Timcanpy. He was flying around until about an hour ago, and then he disappeared. Maybe he got stuck under the book I dropped."

"Get him out!" Allen gasped.

"I was wondering how you two were doing," Lenalee said. "I was surprised when the two of you never came down for lunch or dinner, especially you, Allen."

It was then that Allen came to notice his growling stomach. "Oh, yeah, I guess it slipped our minds," he muttered, then sighed. "Now that I'm aware of it, I'm starving."

"Fred and George went to fetch you something from the kitchen," Lenalee assured.

Lavi dangled Timcanpy by his tail, and the heavy book the golem was stuck under was held in his other hand. "Wasn't anyone wondering where Allen went?" he asked snidely.

"Lavi-"

"Ginny asked me where he was," Lenalee answered, cutting through Allen's protesting. "Some other girls, too."

Allen glared at his red-haired companion as the latter whistled and grinned. "What time is it now?" he asked.

"Oh, nearly ten," Lenalee replied, trailing off slightly. Then suddenly, her eyes lit up. "Oh, Allen? Hermione asked me if you could maybe help her make this medicine for Harry."

"Medicine?" Allen repeated, confused.

"He's having detention with Umbridge right now, and..."

_His hand. _Allen widened his eyes as surprise hit him. "You know about his hand, Lenalee?" he asked. Lavi looked between the two of them with confusion plastered on his face.

"Am I missing something here?" the boy asked. Allen and Lenalee both sent him pointed looks, the kind that the Exorcists (especially sharp-minded ones who realized things at the last minute) were professionals at doing. _We'll explain later, _was the message behind those looks. Whipping out their wands, Allen and Lenalee made quick work of the books strewn on and around the table, keeping only the ones they needed, which Allen'd pointed out and held onto.

"I'm hoping she has murtlap tentacles," Allen said to Timcanpy as the little golem hid himself into his master's hood.

"We have to hurry," Lenalee said as the three of them said good night to a half-asleep Madam Pince. "It's completely past curfew, and I heard rumors that Umbridge patrols the halls."

"I don't think she'll be around tonight," Lavi pointed out, "since she's obviously in her office with Harry for his detention."

The halls were, in fact, void of any sign that Dolores Umbridge was patrolling them. The Exorcists safely returned to the Gryffindor common room where Hermione and Ron were deep in conversation.

"I'm telling you Hermione, that's barking _mad-"_

"But if we don't do anything, we'll all be completely defenseless against You-Know-Who-"

"You-Know-Who won't attack Hogwarts, Dumbledore's here-"

"We can't be so sure of it with the Ministry interfering-"

"But it's _Dumbledore_ we're talking about here-"

"Still, Ron, you can't underestimate your enemy...-"

"Lenalee!" Ron said, looking up as said girl, Allen, and Lavi sat down in the chair across from him and Hermione.

"The spent the whole day in the library's restricted section," Lenalee explained, glancing at the boys, who flushed.

Hermione handed Allen and Lavi each a plate laden with food. "Maybe it won't be enough for Allen, but that was all Fred and George could carry without dropping any," she said. She didn't have to wait two minuntes before Allen's plate was squeaky clean, and she looked glad about it too.

Allen, with a bit of sauce stuck to his face, said with a serious face, "Hermione, do you have any murtlap tentacles?"

"Oh, yes, of course..."

-------------------

A dark, dark room with floating, errie candles. A long table seating a variety of faces: thin, long, round, square, mischievious, bored, excited, grouchy, smiling, and so on, so forth. None of them looked like one another, more or less, they looked like strangers- with a couple things in common. The unaturally dark color of their skin, and the cross-shaped scars that ran across their foreheads. These characteristics were enough evidence for the ones who knew their existence to know that they were all a part of one family. These people's genes came from the world's first apostle: Noah.

This was the Clan of the Noah.

"Hey! Earl!" said one, a young girl, leaning back in her chair and smirking at the shadow at the end of the table, someone fat with a tall hat. "Millenium Earl! When are we going to get on the move? Come on, I'm bo-_ored_! I want to see Allen!"

"Mistress Road!" an umbrella with the head of a jack-o-lantern squeaked in alarm. "You are being rude to the Master Earl-_lero!"_

_"_The Earl won't get mad at me, Lero," Road Kamelot laughed merrily, "will you?"

"Never mind that," a teenage boy said, shaking with mirth and pulling on another boy's long blond hair. "What's bothering me is why we aren't going after the Exorcists."

"Hee hee," the blond one shrieked with laughter. "The Earl's gone easy on the Exorcists, hee hee!" he said.

"I really don't think that's what he's doing," a man said, staring off into the dark room with a look of utter uninterest. "I just want to know what, exactly, we're all doing here, gathered around this gloomy dinner table watching sugar-tooth complain about what's sweet and what's not."

"My name isn't sugar-tooth, it's Skin Bolic!" corrected a scowling, large man, swallowing a spoonful of ice cream. "It's sweet..."

"Surely it wasn't for a nice, sweet family reunion, was it?" the other man, Tyki Mikk, asked boredly.

"An important meeting," Road suggested. "I'm right, aren't I, Earl?"

"What?" one of the teenagers exclaimed happily, yanking once again on the blond one's hair. "You mean we're _finally _going to get a role in this so far boring play?"

The Millenium Earl peered at the boy through his round spectacles, his permanent grin never faltering. "Yes," he answered simply, politely. "You will all be sent on your missions soon, my dear, beloved family."

The teenagers cheered and shrieked. "Be glad, Jasdero!" the first one exclaimed, pointing a gun at the blond. "We'll get to kill!"

"Kill, kill, hee hee!" the one named Jasdero wheezed excitedly, pointing a gun back at the other. "We'll have fun, won't we, David?"

"Is there any Innocence there, other than the Exorcists'?" Tyki Mikk asked.

"Most likely."

"When's our first mission? Who's going?"

"It's a secret."

"What's it going to be about, and where?"

"Making more Akumas in London, Tyki-pon," the Earl answered. "You'll soon know when and who will be doing that."

* * *

Hello! This is the author (obvious, but hehe...) 

First off, thank you so much for reading this far! The story is far from over, so there will be a lot more chapters coming along the way.

Secondly, it's my deepest regret that I took so long to post this chapter; I edited the structure of it a lot, but I'm glad with the way it turned out, and that I finally got in a bit of the Noahs as well. Most of the information about the characters in here (like Allen's Innocence once getting destroyed) is _not made up._ I guess the timeline for D. Gray-Man is messed up a bit, going ahead and then coming back, so it might be a little strange for some D. Gray-Man readers, so I will apologize to those who are disappointed.


	19. Desires

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Nineteen: Desires

* * *

Disclaimers: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

Lenalee nearly trampled him the moment Harry walked into the Gryffindor common room just several minutes before midnight. She grabbed him by his shoulders and led him to an armchair next to Allen, who was playing around with Timcanpy, a book open in his lap. Ron and Hermione looked up as he sat down, and Lavi jolted awake when Lenalee sat down on the arm of his chair. Harry was surprised and happy to see that they'd stayed up waiting for him.

Hermione was looking at him in sympathy with a shadow in her eyes as she pushed a bowl of yellow liquid toward him. "Here," she said, "soak your hand in that, it's a solution of strained and pickled murtlap tentacles."

"It should help," Allen added, smiling sheepishly and glancing at Harry's bleeding hand.

Harry studied the liquid that didn't look much different from water-washed honey. He cautiously dipped his hand into it and let out a breath of relief as the pain and aching of his right hand disappeared miraculously. "Thanks," he said gratefully to Hermione and Allen, who Harry instinctively guessed were the ones who made the solution. Hermione's large cat, Crookshanks, leaped into his lap purring, and Harry lazily scratched behind the cat's ears.

Ron was eyeing the words on Harry's hand with disgust, and Lavi narrowed his eyes at them. "I still reckon you should complain about this," Ron muttered.

Harry's answer was immediate. "No," he said.

"McGonagall would go nuts if she knew-"

"Yeah, she probably would," Harry said, interrupting Ron. "And how long d'you reckon it'd take Umbridge to pass another Decree saying anyone who complains about the High Inquisitor gets sacked immediately?"

Ron looked like one of the Silenced ravens from one of Flitwick's past classes. He slumped back in his chair in defeat, but Hermione was vivid.

"She's an awful woman," she said under her breath. "Awful. You know, I was just saying to Ron when you came in...we've got to do something about her."

"We suggested poison," Ron and Lavi said grimly.

"No...I mean, something about what a dreadful teacher she is," Hermione said as Allen and Lenalee rolled their eyes at the other boys, "and how we're not to lean any defense from her at all."

"Well, what can we do about that?" Ron yawned. "'S too late, isn't it? She got the job, she's here to stay, Fudge'll make sure of that."

"Well," Hermione began tentatively. "You know, I was thinking today..." She glanced nervously at Harry and said in a firmer voice, "I was thinking that- maybe the time's come when we should just- just do it ourselves."

"Do what ourselves?" Harry asked, feeling and sounding suspicious, still floating his hand in the essense of murtlap tentacles.

"Well- learn Defense Against the Dark Arts ourselves," Hermione said.

"Come off it," Ron groaned. "You want us to do extra work? D'you realize are behind on homework and it's only the second week?"

"But-"

"It's still the second?" Lavi asked, surprised, then groaned. "Oh, God, that's worse on our case...Panda geezer's going to..."

Lenalee muttered something about not being able to believe and getting expelled. Allen sighed, a nervous and awkward grin on his face as Timcanpy floated around his head.

Hermione ignored the three Exorcists and turned to Ron. "This is more important than homework!" she said.

"I didn't think there was anything in the universe more important than homework," Ron mumbled.

"Don't be silly, of course there is!" Hermione retorted, her eyes, Harry noted, glimmering with the same excitement as when she was talking about S.P.E.W. on the first day of classes. "It's about preparing ourselves, like Harry said in Umbridge's first lesson, for what's waiting out there. It's about making sure we really can defend ourselves. If we don't learn anything for a whole year-"

Ron cut in, looking defeated. "We can't to much by ourselves," he said. "I mean, all right, we can go an look jinxes up in the library and try and practice them, I suppose-"

"No, I agree, we've gone past the stage where we can just learn things out of books," Hermione interrupted. "We need a teacher, a proper one, who can show us how to use spells and correct us if we're going wrong."

"If you're talking about Lupin..."

"No, no, I'm not talking about Lupin," Hermione said. "He's too busy with the Order and anyways, the most we could see him is during the Hogsmeade weekends, and that's not nearly often enough."

"Who, then?" Allen and Harry asked at once.

A look of understanding shone in Lenalee's eyes as Hermione sighed deeply and said, "Isn't it obvious? I'm talking about you, Harry."

At that moment, Allen and Lavi sent each other surprised looks before they turned to Harry, who'd gone silent.

"About me what?" Harry said after a moment.

"I'm talking about you teaching us Defense Against the Dark Arts," Hermione said.

Harry stared at Hermione with a look of disbelief. Allen didn't blame his shock, but he also agreed with Hermione's idea. Harry was, indeed, fit to be a teacher, considering his experiences and knowledge; if anybody survived an encounter with Lord Voldemort, maybe he could do anything.

Lenalee smiled as Ron frowned at the carpeted floor for a few second, deep in thought, and said, "That's an idea."

"What's an idea?" Harry asked.

"You. Teaching us to do it," Ron replied.

"But..." Harry said, a foolish grin creeping onto his face. "But I'm not a teacher, I can't-"

"Harry, you're the best in the year at Defense Against the Dark Arts," Hermione said.

"Me?" Harry asked, his grin growing wider. "No I'm not, you've beaten me in every test-"

"Actually, I haven't," Hermione replied coolly, although there was a red tint to her cheeks. "You beat me in our third year- the only year we both sat the test and had a teacher who actually knew the subject. But I'm not talking about test results, Harry. Look what you've done!"

"How d'you mean?" Harry asked again. Allen glanced at the boy, who was either playing dumb or honestly didn't know how much he'd done compared to most people his age. His experience rate could probably rival that of an Exorcist, Allen thought.

"You know what, I'm not sure I want someone this stupid teaching me," Ron said to Hermione, winking slightly at Allen and smirking. Turning to Harry, he plastered on the look of utmost concentration, drawled, "Let's think. Uh...first year- you saved the Stone from You-Know-Who."

"But that was luck," Harry argued, "that wasn't skill-"

"Second year," Ron said, not giving Harry time to talk, "you killed the basilisk and destroyed Riddle."

"Yea, but if Fawkes hadn't turned up I-"

"Third year," Ron's voice grew in volume, "you fought off about a hundred dementors at once-"

"You know that was a fluke, if the Time-Turner hadn't-"

"Last year," Ron was almost shouting, and Allen wondered why nobody had come down from the dormitories yet, "you fought off You-Know-Who again-"

"Listen to me!" Harry snapped, nearly furiously, at the smirking faces of both Ron and Hermione. Allen and Lavi shrank back in their seats, trying to hide their sudden fear of an angry Harry. Lenalee simply sat silently beside Lavi, watching Harry as he glared at all of them.

"Just listen to me, alright?" Harry demanded. "It sounds great when you say it like that, but all that stuff was luck- I didn't know what I was doing half the time, I didn't plan any of it, I just did whatever I could think of, and I nearly always had help- Don't sit there grinning like you know better than I do, I was there, wasn't I?" For Ron and Hermione were still smirking. Harry's glare intensified, and he continued. "I know what went on, alright? And I didn't get through any of that because I was brilliant at Defense Against the Dark Arts, I got through it all because- because help came at the right time, or because I guessed right- bit I just blundered through it all, I didn't have a clue what I was doing- STOP LAUGHING!"

Harry jumped to his feet, the bowl of murtlap essense crashing to the floor. Hermione's cat, Crookshanks leapt of his lap and hid under a sofa, hissing. The smile on Ron and Hermione's faces vanished immediately.

"You don't know what it's like!" Harry yelled, apparently forgetting about the Exorcists. "You- neither of you- you've never had to face him, have you? You think it's just memorizing a bunch of spells and throwing them at him, like you're in class or something? The whole time you're sure you know there's nothing between you and dying except your own- your own brain or guts or whatever- like you can think straight when you know you're about a second from being murdered, or tortured, or watching your friends die- they've never taught us that in their classes, what it's like to deal with things like that- and you two sit there acting like I'm a clever little boy to be standing here, alive, like Diggory was stupid, like he messed up- you just don't get it, that could just as easily have been me, it would have been if Voldemort hadn't needed me-"

Ron's face had gone pale, all of his freckles standing out clearly. "We weren't saying anything like that, mate," he said weakly. "We weren't have a go at Diggory, we didn't- you've got the wrong end of this-"

"Harry," Hermione said, taking over, "don't you see? This...this is exactly why we need you...We need to know what it's r-really like...facing him...facing V-Voldemort."

At those words, Harry calmed down significantly. Sitting back down, he looked mornfully at the smashed murtlap essense on the floor and winced slightly, his hand twitching. He was still breathing hard.

"Well...think about it," Hermione whispered. "Please?"

Harry nodded, and Hermione stood up, followed by Lenalee.

"Well, I'm off to bed. Erm..."

"'Night," Lenalee said for her, and the two girls disappeared into the dormitory.

Ron and Lavi had both stood up as well. "Coming?" Ron asked.

Allen sent Harry a look, and Harry glanced at the murtlap essense again. "Yeah," he said. "In...in a minute. I'll just clear this up." He motioned to the broken bowl, and Ron left after nodding, Lavi trailing after him.

Harry made to take out his wand, already muttering the beginning of a charm, when, Allen said, "Reparo," and the broken china pieces mended themselves. Except for the stain on the carpet, there was no hint that anything had been spilled or broken. "Are you alright?" Allen asked.

Harry groaned. "I feel like a git," he spat. "Ron's right- I was on the wrong end of it all."

Allen smiled softly. "Hermione does have a point, about needing you to be a teacher, because you're one of the only people in this castle who knows it all. Not just the magic, but the enemy," he said calmly.

"I know they don't think I'm some little genius who can evade death," Harry said, hanging his head, "but the way they were just grinning..."

"It's very rare in your world that people like you exist, isn't it?"

"People like me?" Harry repeated.

Timcanpy flew rested on Allen's head, swinging his tail merrily. Allen himself was playing with his glove, his scaly red hand reflecting the glow from the fireplace. The green jewel-like cross that was embedded in it- the Innocence- glimmered a holy power. "The Black Order is full of people like me and you," Allen said. "Well, it's rare you come across a cursed person, but we all know what it's like to face possible death, and despite what many people say, it's unusual that skill helps you win a battle. Luck, comrades, help..."

Harry shook his head. "Even if I teach anyone defensive magic," he said, "what use would that be? Kids aren't allowed to fight Voldemort- much less come across him in a place like Hogwarts. Nobody believes me anyways, so what's the point? I'm not even sure if I want to be here- not completely sure. After I saw the Order...I wanted to help them. Here, I can't do anything, and playing teacher to a bunch of kids isn't going to help me do anything either!"

"Anything?" it was Allen's turn to repeat Harry's words. "Harry, let me ask you this. What do you want to do?"

"What do I want to...?"

Allen nodded, smiling, and stood up from his seat. "It's something someone told me before. My weapon was destroyed, I was wounded, everyone else was fighting, and I thought I was useless, I couldn't do anything...then she came up to me and asked me that.

"Harry, what do you want to do? What's your reason for doing something? Where do you want to end up?" Allen asked.

"I-"

"Harry, Allen?" Ron called. "What're you two doing? C'mon, let's go to sleep."

"Allen, we've got an equally busy day 'morrow," Lavi added.

"Coming!" Allen replied. He turned to Harry, smiling. "Think about that, why don't you? When you find your answer to that, I'm sure you'll see the point in becoming a teacher."

Harry jumped to his feet. "Wait- Allen, what do you-?"

But Allen shook his head and was gone with a swish of his black coat. 


	20. A Couple of People

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Twenty: A Couple of People

* * *

**Disclaimers: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

Two weeks had passed since Hermione's sudden suggestion of Harry teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. During the two weeks, it seemed as if Umbridge had forgotten the existence of the Exorcists inside the castle (they had done their best to stay low in profile), and nothing significant had happened overtime, either. It was a rather peaceful fornight for everyone. 

It was now the end of September. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were in the library alone looking up potion ingredients for Snape when Hermione said suddenly, "I was wondering, whether you'd thought any more about Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry."

"Course I have," Harry replied darkly. "Can't forget it, can we, with that hag teaching us-"

"I meant the idea Ron and I had," Hermione said, and Ron sent her an alarmed look, "oh, all right, the idea _I _had- about you teaching us."

Harry hoped she wasn't waiting for an immediate answer. He wasn't sure if he was ready to admit that he _had _thought- a lot- about it over the past two weeks. There were times when the idea still sounded insane, as it had when Hermione had first proposed it to him, and there were times when he was subconsciously thinking about what spells had squeezed him through near-death encounters, sometimes even planning lessons in the back of his mind. And Allen Walker's words still rang clear in his ears.

Allen's gray eyes looking at him with the kind of serenity and pain he'd sometimes seen in Dumbledore's eyes, his voice forming the questions that had never occured to Harry, not even once. _What do you want to do?What's your reason for doing something? Where do you want to end up?_

Harry still didn't have his answers, and thus so he couldn't find a solid answer for Hermione- not yet. But he couldn't just _not _say anything, either.

"Well, yeah, I-I've thought about it a bit," he said, not meeting Hermione's eyes.

"And?"

"I dunno." Harry glanced at Ron, who suddenly seemed a lot more comfortable than he did at the beginning of the conversation.

"I thought it was a good idea from the start," he said, and Harry shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"You did listen to what I said about a load of it being luck, didn't you?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Harry, but all the same, there's no point pretending that you're not good at Defense Against the Dark Arts because you are," Hermione said soothingly. "You were the only one last year who could throw off the Imperius Curse completely, you can produce a Patronus, you can do all sorts of stuff that full-grown wizards can't, Viktor always said-"

Ron's head snapped in her direction, and he smirked at her. "Yeah? What did Vicky say?"

"Ho ho," Hermione shot back coolly. "He said Harry knew how to do stuff even he didn't, and he was in the final year at Durmstrang."

"You're not still in contact with him, are you?"

"So what if I am?" Hermione retorted. "I can have a pen pal if I-"

"He didn't only want o be your pen pal."

Hermione shook her head and turned away from Ron, and, ignoring him, said to Harry, "Well, what do you think? Will you teach us?"

Harry poked at the page of the book he was reading, trying to buy time by looking thoughtful. He couldn't get of out of this predicament with spells, could he? "Just you and Ron, yeah?" he answered halfheartedly.

Whether it was just Harry's imagination or not, Hermione's face took on an anxious look once more. "Well," she said. "Well...now, don't fly off the handle again, Harry, please...But I really think you ought to teach anyone who wants to learn. I mean, we're talking about defending ourselves against V-Voldemort-"

At the mention of the name, Ron nearly fell out of his seat, causing several people to stare from other tables.

"Oh, don't be pathetic, Ron," Hermione snapped and turned back to Harry, "it doesn't seem fair if we don't offer the chance to other people."

"Yeah, but I doubt anyone except you two would want to be taught by me. I'm a nutter, remember?"

"Well, I think you might be surprised by how many people would be interested in hearing what you've got to say," Hermione said. "Look, you know the first weekend in October's a Hogsmeade weekend? How would it be if we tell anyone who'd interested to meet us in the village and we can talk it over?"

"Why do we have to do it outside school?" Ron asked.

"Because," Hermione said, returning to her diagram of a Chomping Cabbage. "I don't think Umbridge would be very happy if she found out what we were up to."

"Up to what, might I ask?" asked a voice, successfully imitating Umbridge and making the three students jump. Lavi, grinning widely and covered in dust, looked at them with curiosity. "Well?"

"They were asking me about the Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons they want me to teach," Harry answered. "And I agreed, I guess. We're having a meeting in Hogmeade at the beginning of October."

"Then could we come too?" Allen asked, emerging from behind a shelf with Lenalee, his arms laden with ancient looking books. "Dumbledore said it would be better if comrades stuck together, and it would help us gain more support as well as keep students safe."

"Oh, yes," Lenalee said, agreeing with the boy. "Could we be invited to your meeting, Hermione?"

Harry felt reassurance at the fact that the Exorcists were eager to join them in their secret group. If the people who were rumored to be apostles of God (as Hermione had said upon researching one of the books Lavi and Allen had brought from the library) were in agreement with them, then it was likely that they were doing something that benefited them against Voldemort.

The first weekend of October came quickly. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all marveling at how past time seemed to have passed as they sat down at the Gryffindor table for dinner on Friday night. As they ate through the delicious meal, Ron was insisting that tomorrow they ought to take Allen to Honeydukes, the sweets store that was popular amongst Hogwarts students. Allen, too, seemed eager to go and didn't notice the amused smiles Lenalee and Lavi exchanged behind him.

Harry barely heard if Hermione agreed, or disagreed, for his mind had, again, wandered over to the worries that had been plaguing his mind for the past few days: Sirius. His godfather hadn't tried to talk to them ever since he appeared in the Gryffindor common room's fire, and although Harry was sure he was skulking because of his and Hermione's violent reaction to the idea of Sirius meeting them at Hogsmeade, Harry still wondered if the man would take the chance and come to the village anyways. It made his stomach turn as he franctically thought over in his mind what they would _do _if the great black dog came bounding down the street at them, perhaps in clear sight of Draco Malfoy or, worse, Dolores Umbridge?

"What's wrong, Harry?" Allen asked curiously when Harry shook his head violently in an attempt to throw the anxiety out of his mind.

"Oh," Harry said, snapping out of his worries. Glancing around to make sure nobody was listening, he leaned into Allen's ear and whispered, "I'm just worried Sirius might be here."

"Well, you can't blame him for wanting to get out an about," Ron said, barging into the conversation. "I mean, he's been on the run for over two years, hasn't he, and I know that can't have been a laugh, but at least he was free, wasn't he? And now he's just shut up all the time with that lunatic elf."

Allen sent Ron a confused look as Hermione scowled darkly.

"Thr trouble is," she said, "until V-Voldemort- oh, for heaven's _sake, _Ron- comes out into the open, Sirius is going to have stay hidden, isn't he? I mean, the stupid Ministry isn't going to realize Sirius is innocent until they accept that Dumbledore's been telling the truth about him all along. And once the fools start catching real Death Eaters again it'll be obvious Sirius isn't one...I mean, he hasn't got the Mark, for one thing."

"I don't reckon he's stupid enough to turn up," Ron said as he swallowed a mouthful of mashed potatoes. "Dumbledore'd go mad if he did and Sirius listens to Dumbledore even if he doesn't like what he hears."

"But-" Harry began.

"Listen," Hermione said, turning her head this way and that, making sure, just as Harry had done, that nobody was eavesdropping, "Ron and I have been sounding out people who we thought might want to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts, and there are a couple who seem interested. We've told them to meet us in Hogsmeade."

"Right," Harry said, appreciating her effort to distract his mind, but still knowing miserably that she had failed to do so anyway.

"Don't worry, Harry," Lenalee told him soothingly from across the table. "You've got enough on your plate without Sirius too."

"Yeah," Lavi piped up, grinning with mirth. "Like that mountain of homework you still got to finish, although I assure you that sweet little Allen and Lenalee will aid you with that later." Said people sent him an appaled look, and Lavi grumbled deensively, "My grades, compared to my memory, might as well be dragon dung! And Harry, even though you're not spending every other week in good ol' Umbridge's office, your homework load isn't the best you see in the fifth year right now, and what about your Quidditch? You've got that too, don't you?"

Ron sniggered silently, causing Lenalee to turn to him with a knowing look. "Ron, you too. You've got prefect duties- aren't prefects supposed to be role models?"

"Yeah, prefects like my git of a brother," Ron retorted with a grimace. "Besides, that just makes one more than Harry, and I got one finished asignment over him!"

"You should do what Hermione's doing," Allen said as he stuffed a sausage into his mouth. "She's taking more classes than you two, is also a prefect like Ron, and has finished all of her homework-"

"Well, she's-" Ron said indignantly.

"-_And _she's been knitting more hats for the house elves, and trust me, I deeply regret the fact that I haven't been able to help her out," Allen said, raising his voice a notch. "She's a wonderful role model for everyone, I should say."

"I'm getting better too," Hermione said quietly, with a bit of a flush in her cheeks, whether it was because of the candlelight or not, Harry could not tell.

"Kanda, Krory, and Miranda would meet us in the entrance hall tomorrow morning after breakfast," Lenalee announced as she returned to her dinner. "It's best if we don't gather around each other too much under Umbridge's nose."

The next morning dawned brightly and windy, especially chilly, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione shivered slightly as they waited in the line of students headed for Hogsmeade. The Exorcists, being no longer students, waited outside wearing borrowed Muggle clothes, their uniforms being much too conspicuous. Allen and Lavi were standing side by side, talking to Lenalee as they tugged at the collars of their sweaters, Allen fidgeting with Timcampy who was hidden safely in his jacket pocket. Lenalee was wearing one of Hermione's coats, and was pulling a wool cap over Allen's equally conspicuous white hair. In the distance, Harry could see Kanda kicking at fallen leaves sullenly, apparently still upset about the fact that he had been forced by everyone to leave his trusted uniform behind and was glaring at the sleeve of his coat (from whom it had been borrowed, nobody knew). His anti-Akuma weapon, the sword Mugen, was hidden safely in a knapsack given by Hermione, who'd earlier cast an Undectable Extension Charm on it. Krory and Miranda, clad in old-fashioned clothes (possibly their own) were waiting a few feet behind Filch, looking nervous yet excited.

"Er-" Ron said, raising an eyebrow as Harry, last of the three, was being sniffed at by the caretaker. "Why was Filch sniffing you?"

"I suppose he was checking for the smell of Dungbombs," Harry chuckled, waving at the Exorcists. "I forgot to tell you..."

And so he launched into telling his friends about the encounter with Cho Chang and Filch at the Owlery during the beginning of the term, Allen chipping in with a few details here and there. While Lavi and Ron seemed bored and began to walk ahead of them with Lenalee, Hermione seemed highly intrigued by the tale.

"He said he was tipped off you were ordering Dungbombs? But who had tipped him off?" she asked.

"I dunno," Harry replied, and Allen shrugged. "Maybe Malfoy, he'd think it was a laugh."

"If it's Umbridge," Allen said, "then I would be forced to admit she's on the same level as my Master Cross."

"It's too bad we can't stop by Honeydukes though," Ron was saying to Lavi. "Allen would have fallen in love with it. It's got the best sweets, I tell you, the best!"

Hermione, ignoring Allens suggestion and Ron's rambling, looked thoughtful. "Malfoy?" she repeated in question. "Well...yes...maybe..."

She fell silent, and absentmindedly took the lead, and they all followed her to the outskirts of Hogsmeade until,

"Where are we going anyway?" Harry asked. "The Three Broomsticks?"

Hermione didn't answer.

"Uhm, Hermione?" Lenalee said as Lavi nudged her with his elbow.

"Oh!" the girl gasped slightly and flushed. "No," she said, "no, it's always packed and really noisy. I've told the others to meet us in the Hog's Head, that other pub, you know the one, it's not on the main road. I think it's a bit...you know..._dodgy..._but students don't normally go in there, so I don't think we'll be overheard."

When they passed Zonko's Joke Shop, Lavi was waved at from Fred and George Weasley as well as their friend Lee Jordan, and Harry saw Allen looking in wonder at the past office, from which owls flew in and out of at regular intervals. They turned onto a side street, which was far more deserted and less lively than the rest of the village, and saw a small inn at the top of it. There was a saign, battered and creaking in the wind, with a picture upon it: a wild boar's head on a white cloth with blood leaking onto the cloth in an almost grotesque fashion. Before entering, Harry, Ron, and Hermione hesitated outside the door, but the Exorcists, especially Kanda, walked in without blinking once at the ancient building or the intimidating sign, or the strange atmosphere surrounding the whole area. Harry guessed that they were used to places like these, wherever they came from, or maybe it just came with the job...

"Well, com on," Hermione said, not sounding any more confident than she looked, motioning inside as Lenalee and Allen looked back at them in question.

"From the look of your faces, I take it that the Three Broomsticks is the exact opposite of this place?" Lavi asked as the nine of them looked around the inn.

Indeed it was. Compared to the cheerful, welcoming warmness of the usual bar they went to, the Hog's Head was gloomy, dirty, and it looked doubtful that the dirty cups on the counter had been used in weeks, even months, or years. The room smelled strongly of wool, and a goat baahed from somewhere beyond a door, and the dirty windows barely let in any daylight, and the candles that rested on the tables were stubby and pretty much useless. The floor, at first glance appearing to be made of dirt, was covered in inch after inch of dust and filth. Stepping on it, Lavi grimaced, and even Allen seemed taken aback.

"Who's _that _old hag?" Lavi hissed in Ron's ear.

Harry followed Lavi's gaze and turned to Hermione. "I don't know about this, Hermione," he said. "Has it occured to you that Umbridge might be under that?" He gestured towards a witch sitting in a dark corner who was wearing a heavy black wig.

A flash of panic seized Hermione's eyes, but she looked at the witch with merly skepticism, not showing if she felt any anxiety. "Umbridge is shorter than that woman," she said after a moment, quietly. "And anyway, even if Umbridge _does _come in here there's nothing she can do to stop us, Harry, because I've double- and triple-checked the school rules. We're not out-of-bounds; I specifically asked Professor Flitwick whether students are allowed to come in the Hog's Head, and he said yes, but he advised me strongly to being out own glasses."

"Figures," Lenalee and Allen muttered in unison, their eyes glued to the cups sitting on the countertop as they fingered the glass, trying to see if they could actually _touch _the grime upon them.

"And I've looked up everything I can think of about study groups and homework groups and they're definetly allowed. I just don't think it's a good idea if we _parade_ what we're doing," Hermione finished.

"No," Harry said flatly, "especially as it's not exactly a homework group you're planning, is it?"

"Oh," Allen suddenly said, barely audibly, as an old barman walked out of a back room and shuffled toward them slowly, his piercing blue eyes eerily familiar, yet unfamiliar as they squinted at them slowly. Allen made as if to say something, but one look from the old man silenced him, and as a look of confusement fell on the boy's face, the barman turned his skeptical glare upon the rest.

"What?" he grunted, not politely.

"Three butterbeers," Hermione said. "Please," she added.

"Six Sickles," the man growled at her, reaching under the table and pulling out three dusty bottles.

"I'll get them," Harry said, passing over the silver before Hermione could protest. He felt the barman's eyes skim over him, resting for a moment on his lightning shaped scar, before he grabbed the money and looked away.

"Some for us, too," Lavi said, his hands digging deep into his jeans pocket, and Allen heard the distinct sound of rattling coins. "Six bottles, please."

"Twelve Sickles," the barman repeated, slamming down yet another six bottles of butterbeer, and turned away when Lavi paid.

"Where did you get the money?" Allen asked, handing the bottles out to everyone and looking at Lavi with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, whoa," Lavi gasped with a grin. "Cool down there, Allen. I didn't _steal _it from anyone- no! I got it from Fred and George."

"-_Prefect," _Hermione growled to Ron, and the Exorcists joined them at the table in the farthest corner from the bar and the other customers.

"Oh, yeah..." Ron said gloomily.

"So who did you say is supposed to be meeting us?" Harry asked.

"Just a couple of people," Hermione answered promptly. "I told them to be here about now and I'm sure they all know where it is- oh look, this might be them now-"

"Hi Neville," Lenalee greeted cheerully as Neville Longbottom entered the pub. He was just the begining of a whole line of people.

Following Neville came Dean Thomas and Lavendar Brown. After them, the steady stream of people came with amny familiar faces: Parvati Patil came in with her twin sister Padma; Cho Chang, who took one look at Harry and turned away with a red face, and one of her giggly friends, who did a double-take a Lenalee before glaring at Harry; Luna Lovegood, the dreamy eyed Ravenclaw Allen had spotted near Kanda at sometimes, one of the few people who got into Kand'a personal bubble without having their heads chopped off; three members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, the Chasers, Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, and Angelina Johnson; the tiny Creevey brothers, Colin, and Dennis, who were always watching Harry with awe; Ernie Macmillian, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbott, and an unrecognizable Hufflepuff girl; three Ravelclaws; Ginny followed closely by a memeber of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and bringing up the rear were Fred and George Weasley and Lee Jordan, their arms laden heavily with Zonko's products.

"A couple of people?" Harry was saying to Hermione as Allen and Lavi stared at the crowd with shock. "A _couple of people?"_

_"_Yes, well, the idea seemed quite popular," Hermione replied cheerfully. "Ron, do you want to pull up some more chairs?"

"Hi," Fred Weasley said to the surprised face of the barman, who had probably never seen in bar so full. "Could we have...twenty-five butterbeers please?"

The barman glowered at Fred and George for a second, then, throwing down the rag he was using to clean up a filthy glass, he began to toss bottle after bottle onto the counter.

"Cheers," Fred called as he passed them out. "Cough up, everyone, I haven't got enough gold for all of these..."

Harry was staring numbly at the crowd as the twenty-five students all sat down around him and his friends. Miranda was worse off than him as she trembled violently in her seat beside Krory, who was turning pink with every smile sent to him by the students (he was a rather popular aid for Professor Sprout, with his politeness and vast knowledge of plants). Cho Chang, looking at anywhere but Harry, was glancing every once in a while at Kanda, who rolled his eyes at Luna as she muttered to him about maybe yet another non-existent creature. Lavi and the Weasley twins were looking through the Zonko's bags, apparently unaware of the many people around them and probably forgetting about why, exactly, they were all gathered here. Lenalee and Allen were slumped back in their seats as Hermione and Ron looked torn between happiness, nervousness, and horror.

"Blimey," Harry heard Allen mutter.


	21. Memories

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Twenty-One: Memories

* * *

**Disclaimers: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

"My apologies, Komui, for keeping you in this stuffy old room whilst your companions are outside, enjoying the autumn weather," Dumbledore said kindly. 

"It's alright," Komui Lee replied, slipping a piece of paper onto the ever-growing stack of files he'd looked through. "Quite alright."

"How is your studying coming along?"

"Oh, it's dull. So far, I haven't seen anything that contradicts with our knowledge of the Millenium Earl and his Noahs, although, I daresay, Allen Walker probably knows more about them than any. Him, or that red haired boy, Lavi."

"Hmm..."

Komui yawned as his eyes skimmed the next paper quickly, finding nothing in particular that caught his attention. As he placed it on top of the three-feet-tall stack of parchment, his mind wandered to the Exorcists down in Hogsmeade, doing God knows what with those three Gryffindors. Komui was quite aware that Harry Potter, the legendary boy he'd heard as the only person to survive getting killed by Lord Voldemort, was amongst those three. He also knew that Harry Potter, as well as Dumbledore, was considered a headcase these days.

Komui had learned to trust Dumbledore and the members of the Order of the Phoenix. He'd met some of them, too. While everyone of the Black Order thought he was trapped in the office, he and Dumbledore had snuck out of the castle to ensure that the alliance between the two orders was secure. They were all good people, Komui had been relieved to know, but he was surprised when he found out that two members of the other order were a werewolf and a wanted, supposed mass murderer. And Harry Potter, truthful or not, was thought of as a lunatic, maybe also wanted for questioning by the Ministry of Magic. The thought that his sister, his dear, beloved, innocent sister, Lenalee, was always hanging around him was..._infuriating._

The fact that Allen, Lavi, Kanda, Krory, and Miranda were with her should've been a reassurance. That thought of Miranda being close by would have been a reassurance. But she wouldn't be of much help with her complication with self-confidence. And the others were _men, _and men must not be trusted when they were with Lenalee...

"Komui," Dumbledore said in his clear, pleasant voice, "you're crumpling up the papers."

"Huh?" Komui gasped, snapping out of his thoughts. "Oh, yes, right." He released the death grip he'd held on the now wrinkled documents, tried to smooth it unsuccessfully, and put it down. Sighing, he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, brushing away non-existent sweat. His eyelids felt like lead, weighed down with fatigue, and his eyes themselves twitched under the heavy, ever-familiar feeling of sleeplessneess. Back at headquarters, he and his fellow science department folks would go through days, weeks, maybe even _months _of all-nighters and absolutely not a wink of sleep, but being in this magic-filled castle, so far away from home, in a different century even, was a lot more pressure upon his shoulders than usual. And Lenalee was still with those men...

"Why don't you take a well deserved break, Komui?" Dumbledore asked. "Today is a Hogsmeade day, and many of the students are enjoying the breezy weather. You should go down and get some fresh air as well. You've been in here all day, only leaving with me to go to meals."

"Yes, well, I have to say it's been part of my lifestyle ever since I went to the Order," Komui said sheepishly, stifling a yawn. He suddenly had a craving for coffee, in his adorable mug, poured by Lenalee. It always woke him up because Lenalee knew just exactly how he wanted his coffee.

_Like it's time to be longing for coffee,_ he thought with a shake of his head. _Everyone's always risking their lives for us, for the world, now that I'm a part of the darkness now, I should act as I should..._

_"_Yes," Komui said, "yes. I think I'll take a stroll through the village. Maybe I could find something usefull as well..."

A jingling sound reached his ears as Dumbledore handed him a small pouch. "Enjoy a cup of coffee, and maybe some sweets from Honeydukes," the headmaster said with a twinkle in his eyes. "I'd say you might enjoy the Three Broomsticks."

Komui dumbfoundedly took the rather heavy pouch of gold, muttering a thanks, before he slipped out of Dumbledore's office. He stared at the money for a while as he walked down the corridors, and with a smile, decided to buy a small gift for everyone waiting back at the Black Order, one of each Exorcist, for the Finders, and the scientists. It would still only be the small piece of thanks he could give.

"I'm not a student," he said absentmindedly as he passed Argus Filch, who squinted up at him over the list of students allowd to go into Hogsmeade. "Have a good one."

"So you're one of those strangers Professor Dumbledore'd invited, are you?" Filch growled. "At first glance you all seemed like Muggles. Wonder what you truly are, eh? The bloody secret you hide behind all your pretty faces...Professor Umbridge won't let you out of this castle easily. It'll be a long time before you see your homes, it will be..."

Komui shrugged and walked out into the silver sunlight, basking in the warmth and gulping down fresh air. It was a beautiful day.

Humming a tune he'd heard once while wandering the castle, Komui sauntered into the village where bright colors of red, orange, yellow and brown shone vividly against the gray sky. There were students everywhere, looking quite Mubble- like (or whatever the non-magical folks were called) in their jackets and coats and skirts and jeans. They bustles about from store to store, down one street and around another corner, each and every one of them overflowing with excitement and not an ounce of worry in them as they ventured through and around the peaceful, lively town with their friends.

_This is the world we're all aiming for in the Order, _Komui thought, a touch of loneliness in him as he wished his comrades were with him, making him a part of the group as well. They were all from the same 'home' and were in the mission together, yet he was always inside an office alone while everyone else was traveling with each other. It was the same at any time, any place. Back at headquarters, all he could have done was send out Finders and Exorcists into the battlefields. And now, even at Hogwarts, the most he was able to do was communicate with their allies and literally hide behind pile after pile of documents while the others had fought twice already and were facing the wrath of the Ministry of Magic constantly. He felt bad and at guilt towards the Exorcists every time he saw them. He could see damages on their coats almost painstakingly clearly, the scratches and rips in the tough fabric, memoirs of all the battles they'd fought. He knew that, most likely, Kanda's lifespan was shortened with every near-fatal mission, and he'd more than once overheard Allen wandering the headquarters once because his cursed eye was hungry for Akuma, reacting to the presense of monsters that were miles and miles away. And once, only a few days after Allen had almost died after temporarily losing his left arm, during one of his midnight cravings for coffee as he and Reever pulled another all-nighter, Komui had seen the boy in his room, crying.

As Komui walked down the cobblestone road, he fell into his past memories, the scene from not so many nights ago replaying in his mind, haunting him...

The door, slightly ajar, with a dim yellow light pouring out into the corridors. Allen, curled into a ball on his bed, the blanket tangled around his legs. The boy was breathing deeply, harshly, his shoulders shaking and his hands clenched tightly as Timcampy rested on his head, trying to comfort his master; it was obvious that Allen had awoken from a nightmare, and with a chill creeping down his spine, Komui had a hunch as to what that dream was about. Allen's right hand was grasping his left arm, as if to make sure that it was there, and he then was groping along the front of his shirt. And then, Allen stayed still for a few seconds. Komui could almost hear the pounding of the boy's heart in the silence that fell at that moment, and when Allen's hunched shoulders relaxed, and when Allen let out a breath of relief, Komui realized with a jolt that his own heartbeat was what the boy had, in fact, been listening so hard for...to make sure that there was no hole in the beating organ...that he was alive...

"Whoa, Komui, you came out of your nest?"

Lavi's voice violently dragged Komui out of the past, and the chief found himself looking into his sister's dark eyes that were looking back at him with worry. Standing behind Lenalee were Allen and the others, but Harry Potter and his friends were nowhere to be seen. Allen and Lavi were both holding a bag of sweets, while Krory and Miranda were holding a small package tightly in their hands. Kanda stood a few feet away from everyone, staring into the window of a rather darkly lit store. But when Lavi shuffled over to him and whispered in his ear, the samurai glared daggers at him and turned away from whatever was on display.

"Is there anything wrong, Komui?" Lenalee asked suddenly, her eyebrows knit together. "You seemed troubled when you were walking."

Seeing the anxiety in his sister's eyes made Komui feel as if someone had poured ice cold water over his head. Ever since Lenalee was a little girl, she'd been worrying about everyone. Komui hated that look in her eyes whenever her thoughts were plagued by the possible death of comrades who disappeared during battles and missions. If only he could take away the constant worry in her eyes...and yet, his job was to create them, sending the Exorcists and Finders out into danger...

"It's...nothing, Lenalee," Komui said, smiling. "I was just thinking about the documents that I was working on in Dumbledore's office. And the mountain that everyone would be making for me back at headquarters."

"Oh, yeah," Lavi said with a laugh. "Once we get home, Komui would be back to getting hassled by Reever and the others."

"I hope we don't have any more Komurins," Allen muttered. "That one time I really thought I was going to die."

Komui nearly fainted when he heard Allen say the word 'die.' Once again, the image of the young boy crying alone in his room in the middle of the night flashed through his mind, and Komui closed his eyes, shaking his head to make it disappear.

"Komui?"

"Do you think you guys won't mind showing me around Hogsmeade?" Komui asked cheerfully, looking around at the Exorcists. "Please? I'll treat you later."

Lenalee, Allen, and Lavi nodded enthusiastically. "Is there anything specific you want to see?" Allen asked. Krory and Miranda smiled in agreement, and as per usual, Kanda stood off to the side, not exactly participating in anything but still being a member of the group.

"I'd like to see if I could find a quill for the science department," Komui said as Lavi and Lenalle steered him down the street. "Reever could use a new quill for a refreshment, I think."

"I think I saw Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop just ahead," Krory said, pointing down the High Street. "Oh look, there's Hermione."

"Harry looks real happy, don't he?" Lavi asked Allen as the Exorcists watched the boy walk away in the opposite direction.

"Yeah, well, Cho Chang kept looking at him," Allen replied boredly as they entered the quill shop. Komui and Miranda immediately disappeared behind a display of special quills.

"And Ron looks like the world's ending...either that or _he's _going to end it himself," Lavi said again.

"That's probably because he somehow found out about Ginny's boyfriend, Michael," Allen answered coolly again, fiddling with a bright peacock feather quill. "I mean, that's the reason Ginny made me swear to keep it a secret. She knew Ron would harp on about it."

"How do you know all this, Allen?" Lenalee asked.

"Because I've ran into Ginny several times and she and I walk around the lake talking a lot," Allen said. "Lavi, do you have six Sickles? I think I could make some use of this quill..."

"Ooh, me too," Lenalee said excitedly, picking up a long, snow white feather quill. "Lavi, could you give me your pouch? Allen, here, I'll go buy this for you too."

"Thanks, Lenalee."

Komui watched from a distance as his sister took a golden quill from Allen and disappeared behind a shelf to pay for their purchases. Komui had already bought himself and the scientists back home a reasonable number of quills and ink bottles each, and although they hadn't all been the most cheapest items, Komui's 'allowance' was still plentiful and weighed down his pocket. Dumbledore sure spoiled him today...

"Where do you want to go next, Yu?" Lavi asked Kanda as Lenalee returned with a small, thin package.

"I don't care," Kanda answered grimly. Walking out of the store swiftly, the others followed.

"I'm thirsty," Allen said, looking through his bag of Honeydukes sweets. "What's this? Blood flavored licorice? I don't remember bying this...well, Krory, here, try this..."

Komui took a deep breath and clapped his hands. "Let's go to the Three Broomsticks, it's a bar Dumbledore told me about," he said cheerfully. "My treat."

"Really?" Lavi exclaimed happily, then nearly bounded down the street, cheering. Laughing at the Bookman's enthusiasm, Lenalee and Allen trotted after him. Krory and Miranda, chuckling, followed them as well, Kanda walking sullenly behind them, and Komui suddenly found himself staring at the group before him, and the past sucked him in once again.

A little girl, giggling happily as she skipped down a stone road, waving cheerfully at clucking hens and passing farmers, at old men playing mah-jongg, at young girls pouring tea, at mothers who were nursing their babies. The girl's long black pigtails swung inthe air behind her, and her adorable clothes shone in the sunlight. It was as if Komui was looking in through a window in the sky, watching his sister, carefree and with no idea of the fate that awaited her, run through the streets of their hometown in China, and as a young man chased after her, laughing as well. In the distance was a store, and the two children's parents were waiting there, waving, smiling...

And then, darkness, an explosion, as an army of black metal monsters shot their poisonous cannons at the store. The parents were gone in a cloud of dust, and the girl froze in shock as the Akuma aimed their attack at her. The young man grabbed her, trying to escape, as citizens panicked and ran for cover. Then a man wearing a black western coat. He destroyed the monsters, made quick work of them, then a shining green light, the man exclaiming something, grabbing the girl...

**_CRASH!_**

"Komui, are you alright?"

"Oh my Gods, Komui, I think the office's gotten to you..!"

"You've been spacing out a lot today. Here, we'll help you in and find you a place to rest...-"

"_Komui, are you alright?_"

Komui's head was throbbing as Krory and Allen pulled him up to his feet. Miranda looked ready to faint as she stared at the pole he'd walked into while Kanda and Lavi had looks of shock and exasperation on their faces. Still dazed, Komui allowed his comrades to help him into the cheeful atmosphere of the Three Broomstick, and they all sat around a table in the corner. An attractive woman came up to them to take their orders, and Komui heard Lavi ordering something that had to do with toast and beers.

"Sorry guys," Komui said the moment Madam Rosmerta was out of earshot.

"No fret," Lavi said, "but what's with you today? You're just off in your own world half the time."

"I think you're overworked," Lenalee said with a touch of anger in her voice. "Komui, you're going to get sick if you don't be careful."

"I think you should see Madam Pomfrey," Allen suggested. "She'll know if there's anything wrong, and she'll probably help you rest if you're just tired."

"I shall ask Professor Sprout if she could maybe think of any good herbs for you," Krory added.

"M-mhm..." Miranda nodded, apparently having nothing to suddest. Kanda tsked and leaned back in his chair, keeping his eyes on Komui.

"It'll be troublesome if you fall out of your seat," he muttered when everyone sent him a questioning look, and glared at everything in the vicinity when everyone but Allen smiled at him happily. "Keh," he said.

"It's so peacful right now, isn't it?" Lenalee asked, giggling.

"Yes, it is," Allen agreed. "Oh, thank you," he said when Madam Rosmerta came back with seven bottles of butterbeer. He passed one to Komui, and then to the others.

"Cheers," Lavi hummed. "And I agree with Lenalee on that one. I'm already forgetting the life we used to lead up until now. Back home you'd know if you were having a dream that there are no signs of Akuma for half a month, but this time, that's what's happened and it's not a dream!"

"And sitting here," Miranda said softly, her face turning bright red, "it kind of feels like we're all part of a small family on a day out. That's what it was like today while we were all shopping. It's nice...I want the world to be like this after the war is over."

_Family, _Komui thought_, that's what we are all risking our lives for, isn't it- a peaceful time for all the familied out in the world._

"How about we have a toast?" Lavi asked suddenly, holding up his bottle. "To us! And our future victory."

"Cheers," Allen and Lenalee said, winking at the others. Krory raised his bottle as well, most likely out of curiosity than anything, and Miranda nearly slopped her butterbeer all over when her hands shook. Kanda, after a long moment of expectant stares sent his way, grudgingly raised his bottle an inch and set it down immediately.

_Yep, times like this,_ Komui nodded inwardly. _We're all working for this to be something we'll be able to take for granted..._


	22. Hedwig

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Twenty-Two: Hedwig

* * *

**Disclaimers: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

Catching up with homework over the weekend seemed like a breeze for Harry. He and Ron spent the whole of Sunday finishing up unfinished work outside while Hermione sat with them, knitting another of her elf hats for her supposedly ongoing S.P.E.W. activities. She insisted that the hats were disappearing like mad, that house elves were being freed even as they spoke, and that, added to their just started rebellion against Umbridge and the Ministry of Magic's way of teaching Defense, had made her excited in a way nobody could really explain. 

Harry and Ron had strictly avoided involvement with any of Hermione's S.P.E.W. activities, but from time to time they wondered how Allen Walker was coping. Ever since the first day of school when the boy had carelessly voiced his agreement with Hermione's opinion about elf rights, which resulted in him getting pulled into her plans (although he did seem not to mind the idea of working for 'a good cause'), he hadn't really spent much time alone with Hermione, and it was highly doubtful that he would have discussed S.P.E.W. with her either. But it was also probably because of his being an Exorcist on a mission and the fact that he didn't have much time on his hands anymore, what with his leader, Komui Lee or whoever, giving him armloads and mountains of work every day, sometimes even keeping him up all night. After three weeks since the 'expulsion' of the Exorcists, it wasn't an unusual sight when every one of them except Komui's beloved sister, Lenalee, entered the Great Hall in the morning looking gaunt, carrying large bags under their eyes, covered in so much dust that even Allen's white hair seemed a tad bit lighter in color. Hermione hadn't mentioned Allen's cooperation in any of her knitting either, but Harry and Ron guessed she was too excited about her own progress to really mind. As a bit of proof, she had cheerfully bewitched her needles to knit hats and other elf clothes without complaining about Allen wandering the castle when he had said that morning he and the other Exorcists had nothing much to do for the day.

Harry didn't care much about what the Exorcists were doing. As he wrote down word after word onto parchment, finishing essay after essays, he was constantly reliving Saturday's meeting in his mind. He could still remember, vividly, every detail of it: the many people who'd come to listen and agreed to being taught by him...the looks on everyone's faces when they'd heard of all that Harry had done in the past four years...Cho Chang complimenting him about the Triwizard Tournament...the fact that every single person there didn't think of him as a weirdo, but as a person to believe and depend on...

Even when Monday morning dawned, Harry was in a great mood, the idea that all of his least favorite classes were awaiting him didn't bother him at all as he dressed and climbed down the stairs to the Gryffindor common room where he saw a large crowd around the notice board. Out of curiosity, depite their suspisions that Fred and George had posted an immensly large advertisement for testers for their joke products, Ron craned his neck over several second years and read out loud to Harry and Lavi, who had joined them just outside the dormitories.

**By Order Of: **

_The High Inquisitor of Hogwarts_

All student Organizations, Societies, Teams, Groups, and Clubs are henceforth disbanded.

An Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students.

Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge).

No student Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor.

Any student found to have formed, or to belong to, an Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled.

_The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-four._

Signed:

_ Dolores Umbridge_

**High Inquisitor**

Harry and Ron stared at the notice in disbelief, Lavi didn't join in on their shock-party and seemed to have expected this all along as he walked away, almost whistling, towards Allen, where they began to talk about God-knew-what, laughing every once in a while. The second years Ron loomed over looked very anxious.

"Does this mean they're going to shut down the Gobstones Club?" one of them asked his friend anxiously.

"I reckon you'll be okay with Gobstones," Ron told them darkly, and they scurried away looking more scared than ever. "I don't think we're going to be as lucky, though, do you?" he asked Harry.

"This isn't a coincidence," Harry said with clenched fists, his happiness from Saturday bursting like a bubble inside him as rage filled him up. "She knows."

"She can't," Ron said at once, his face struggling between turning red and turning pale.

"There were people listening in that pub," Harry reasoned clearly, despite his anger. "And let's face it, we don't know how many of the people who turned up we can trust...Any of them coulf have run off and told Umbridge..."

Belief an admiration in him that he'd seen in their eyes, on their faces..were they all _fake?_ Like almost everything that he'd seen and heard during his life, were those faces a lie as well?

"Zacharias Smith!" Ron said, puching a fist into his hand. "Or- I thought that Michael Corner had a really shifty look too-"

"I don't think so," Allen said as he materialized behind Ron, looking quite sleepy and bored. "You're just jumping on to Michael because he's Ginny's boyfriend, that's not nice or fair. Besides, knowing Hermione, do you think she'll make you sign _just _a piece of parchment? I'll bet she put some kind of jinx on it."

"Couldn't have," Ron replied, "and how do _you _know about my sister going out with Michael Corner?"

"I-"

"Speaking of Hermione," Lavi interrupted.

"I wonder if she's seen this yet?" Harry asked, looking around at the entrance to the girls' dormitories.

"Let's go and tell her," Ron said, and he ran over to the door, pulled it open, and bounded up the spiral staircase.

"Oh," Allen gasped, "Ron, don't-!"

Ron was on the sixth stair when a loud wailing noise filled the common room. Both Harry and Lavi stared in amazement and wonder as the steps melted together, forming a smooth, long slide. For a moment, Ron tried to keep moving, swinging his arms like windmills, before his feet finally slipped and he fell backwards. He shot down the slide like a rocket and came to rest at Harry's feet.

"That's why I said..." Allen muttered.

"Er- I don't think we're allowed in the girls' dormitories," Harry said, pulling Ron to his feet and trying hard not to laugh. Lavi, meanwhile, was leaning on Allen for support as his shoulders shook with mirth.

"Oooh, who tried to get upstairs?" a couple of fourth year girls giggled, sliding down the slide gleefully.

"Me," Ron grumbled and glared after the girls as they walked off happily. "I didn't realize that would happen. It's not fair!" he added to Harry and the others. "Hermione's allowed in out dormitory, how come we're not allowed-?"

"Well, it's an old-fashioned rule," Allen and Hermione said in unison as the latter slid gracefully onto the rug at the bottom of the stairs, followed by Lenalee. As Allen helped them to their feet, Hermione said, "But it says in _Hogwarts, a History _that the founders thought boys were less trustworthy than girls. Anyway, why were you trying to get in there?"

"To see you- look at this!" Ron said, and nearly dragged her to the notice board. Harry, Lavi, Lenalee, and Allen followed them.

"You read those books just as much as Hermione does," Harry told Allen, who smiled.

"Someone must have blabbed to her!" Ron told Hermione indignantly as she read the notice.

"Like I said-" Allen began.

"They can't have," Hermione said in a low voice.

"You're no naive," Ron grumbled, "you think just because you're all honorable and trustworthy-"

"No," Hermione interrupted, "they can't have dont because I put a jinx on that piece of parchment we all signed. Believe me, if anyone's run off and told Umbridge, we'll know exactly who they are and they will really regret it."

"What'll happen to them?"

"Well, put it this way, it'll make Eloise Midgen's acne look like a couple of cute freckles," Hermione answered. "Come on, let's get down to breakfast and see what the others think...I wonder whether this has been put up in all the houses?"

"I'll bet it has," Lavi said as the group began their trip to the Great Hall.

"Oh, yes," Lenalee agreed. "I'm sure Umbridge would suspect anyone from every house if she'd somehow found out about Saturday."

"Exactly,_ if _she has," Allen said to Ron. "Don't jump to conclusions that anyone told her. Trusting someone is just as important as mistrusting strangers."

"But-"

"Anyway," Allen cut in, ignoring Ron's argument,"if Hermione says nobody could have tattled, I reckon it's best we trust her. Her wisdom and knowledge isn't something we never knew about, and if she'd jinxed the parchment like she said she had, then I'll bet it's a really good jinx."

Looking flustered, Hermione sped up her walking and entered the Great Hall before the rest of them. Then, she froze.

"Ah," Lavi said, looking out at the Great Hall where students were conversing, moving around to confirm on what they'd all read in their respected common rooms. "I'll take it that it was posted everywhere."

"No one's happy?" Allen asked. Lavi listened for a moment and shook his head. "Obviously, I guess."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged looks with each other and sat down at the Gryffindor table, where they were immediately surrounded by Neville, Dean, Fred, George, and Ginny. The Exorcists trio sat beside them and watched as questions bombarded Harry:

"Did you see it?"

"D'you reckon she knows?"

"What are we going to do?"

All eyes were on Harry, and he glanced around, making sure there were no teachers nearby. "We're going to di it anyway, of course," he answered quietly, his eyes watching Umbridge cautiously to make sure she wouldn't stand up from the staff table and come over to them.

"Knew you'd say that," George Weasley said proudly, thumping Harry on that arm.

"The prefects as well?" Fred Weasley asked his brother, Ron, and Hermione.

"Of course," Hermione said coolly.

"Here comes Ernie and Hannah Abbot," Ron announced, looking over his shoulder at the other house tables. "_And _those Ravenclaw blokes and Smith...and no one looks very spotty."

A gasp, and then, "Never mind spots, the idiots can't come over here now, it'll look really suspicious-sit down!" Hermione mouthed to Ernie and Hannah, waving her hands wildly, trying to make them sit back down at the Hufflepuff table. "Later! We'll- talk- to- you- _later!"_

_"_I'll tell Michael," Ginny volunteered impatiently, swinging herself off her bench. "The fool, honestly..."

Harry watched Ginny go, and his eyes then landed on Cho Chang, who was sitting at the Ravenclaw table, talking to her curly haired friend who Harry recognized as the one from the Hog's Head. Next to them, Harry saw Lenalee Lee's brother Komui was talking in low voiced with the Exorcist, Kanda.

"Let's go to class," Hermione said.

"Right, bye guys," Ron agreed and stood up, smiling at Lavi and Lenalee. He gave Allen a long hard look before nodding.

"See you all later," Harry said, and he followed his friends to the large doors when-

"Harry! _Ron!" _Angelina Johnson called. She was running towards them, her face flushed with panick and desperation.

"It's okay," Harry said hurriedly. "We're still going to-"

"You realize she's including Quidditch in this?" Angelina cut in. "We have to go and ask permission to re-form the Gryffindor team!"

"_What?"_ Harry nearly yelled.

"No way," Ron said in shock.

"You read the sign," Angelina said, "it mentions teams too! So listen, Harry...I am saying this for the last time...Please, _please _don't lose your temper with Umbridge again or she might not let us play anymore!"

"Okay, okay," Harry said, backing away nervously when Angelina stared at him intently with nearly teary eyes. "Don't worry, I'll behave myself..."

"Bet Umbridge is in History of Magic," Ron told Harry as they set off down the corridors for Binns's lesson. "She hasn't inspected him yet...Bet you anything she's there..."

But she wasn't there. The only teacher in Binn's classroom was Professor Binns himself, floating about an inch off the ground, and staring at him from a corner was a bat-like creature, flapping its wings to keep itself in the air. Maybe he was imagining it, but Harry thought he could hear faint voices and static coming from it from time to time. After a few minutes into Binns's lecture, it began to turn and look around the room. Its gaze landed on Harry, and it immediately began to buzz around his head.

Harry did his best to ignore the creature as he doodled on his parchment. The teacher's lecture went into his head through one ear and went out the other as per usual, and, besides, he wouldn't have the concentration to ignore both the bat and Hermione's frequent dark looks and nudges while also listening to the lesson. Although, he had to admit, he was doing a good job until a particularly painful jab in the side from Hermione made him look up in alarm.

"_What?_"

Scowling in an exasperated way, Hermione pointed at the window, and Harry looked around. With a jolt, he recognized his snow white owl, Hedwig, perched on the window's narrow ledge, a letter tied to her leg, gazing silently through the thick glass at her master. What she was doing there, Harry did not know. Breakfast was only a few minutes ago, so why did Hedwig not deliver the letter with the other owls? A dull drone reached Harry's ears, and he realized the many of the other students had noticed and were talking quietly about Hedwig.

"Oh, I've always loved that owl," Lavendar Brown said to Parvati Patil, "she's so beautiful."

Harry felt a bit proud of his owl then, being full aware that Hedwig was, indeed, beautiful with her snow white feathers...but this was not the time for such thoughts. Looking around the classroom at Professor Binns, who was too emersed in his own lecture to notice that the classroom's attention on him was less than usual, Harry crouched down low and shuffled over to the window, where he slid the catch and slowly pulled it open.

Having expected Hedwig to hold out her leg and the letter as she usually did, Harry was surprised when his owl hopped into the classroom, hooting in relief. With his owl on his shoulder, Harry took a nervous glance at Professor Binns and, crouching low, sped back to his seat. He then put Hedwig on his lap and reached for the letter around her feet...

"She's hurt!"

Hedwig stared up at him with her wise eyes, as if wondering why he hadn't realized it until now. She was, indeed, hurt. Her white feathers were ruffled in an unnatural way, some were bent the wrong way, and her wing was held at an odd angle.

Harry leaned over to examine her for any other injuries, and Ron and Hermione did so as well. "Look," Harry said to them, "there's something wrong with her wing-"

Hedwig was trembling, apparently in pain. When Harry reached to touch the hurt wing, she flinched and puffed up her feathers, sent him a reproachful look. The bat like creature was still hovering over them, and a strange, mechanical, eerily familiar voice whispered from it:

"_Take her to a teacher- make sure it ain't serious..."_

Harry didn't know who the voice belonged to, and he didn't care. All he knew was that the voice was right. "Professor Binns," he said loudly, and all eyes turned to land on him. "I'm not feeling well."

The ghost teacher looked up from his notes, looking surprised by the number of people in his classroom. "Not feeling well?" he repeated slowly.

"Not at all well," Harry replied, getting to his feet with Hedwig behind his back. "So I think I'll need to go to the hospital wing."

"Yes," Professor Binns said, clearly confused. "Yes...yes, hospital wing...well, off you go, then, Perkins..."

Harry rushed out into the hall and placed Hedwig back on his shoulder. He then started off down the corridor, stopping to think only when he was obviously out of sight of Binns's classroom door. Hedwig was still trembling, and Harry immediately thought of Hagrid as the person who would cure her, but then again he had no idea whatsoever as to where the giant professor was. And that left him with Professor Grubby-Plank. He wasn't completely sure, but he had to hope that she would be willing to help. He looked out the window; she wasn't anywhere near Hagrid's cabin. That ought to mean that she was probably in the staffroom. Wondering whether or not he should cross his fingers, Harry began to go downstairs when-

"Harry?"

Allen Walker was jogging up to him, his black coat swishing behind him. Harry waited for the boy to catch up, and when he did, they began to walk down the staircase together.

"What were you doing there?" Harry asked Allen.

"Patrolling the halls," Allen answered offhandedly. "We do that a lot during classes to make sure nothing happens. How's Hedwig's wing?"

Harry's heart skipped a beat. "How'd you know about that?"

"Lavi told me about it- didn't you notice that golem in the classroom?" Allen asked. "Komui asked Dumbledore if we could set them up in every classroom to make it easier for us to patroll. If something happens in one, the Exorcists closest to it would do something."

"That voice from the thing-"

"That would have been Lavi," Allen confirmed. "I thought I heard him say something through his golem..."

"The voice did sound familiar," Harry said. Hedwig fidgeted on his shoulder.

"What happened to her, anyway?" Allen asked.

"I don't-"

"You should be in class, sunny Jim."

Allen shouted in surprise and fell backwards onto the floor. The two stone gargoyles by the staffroom door cackled at him and turned to Harry, who said, "This is urgent."

"Ooooh, _urgent, _is it?" one of them croaked. "Well, that's put _us _in out place, hasn't it?"

"Oh, shove it, both of you," Allen grumbled to the gargoyles, picking himself off the ground. Harry knocked, and they both heard footsteps from the other side. When teh doors swung open, they found themselves face-to-face with McGonagall.

"You haven't been given another detention!" the teacher said with appalled suspicion.

"No, Professor!" Harry answered hastily, and McGonagall turned to Allen.

"And you, Mr. Walker, what are _you _doing here?" she demanded. "Surely you won't get in any more trouble with Professor Umbridge?"

"No, ma'am," Allen replied sheepishly. "I just ran into Harry upstairs...but that's not the point-"

"Well then," McGonagall said, ignoring Allen, "why are you out of class?"

"It's _urgent_, apparently," the second gargoyle sneered. Allen mumbled something at them.

"I'm looking for Professor Grubby-Plank," Harry explained. "It's my owl, she's injured."

"Injured owl, did you say?"

"Yes," Harry said, glad to see Grubby-Plank appear in the doorway, smoking a pipe and holding a copy of the _Daily Prophet._ "She turned up after the other post owls and her wing's all funny, look-"

Grubby-Plank bit down hard on her pipe as she gently took Hedwig from Harry's hands. It wobbledup and down between her teeth as she talked. "Hmm," she said. "Looks like something's attacked her. Can't think what would have done it, though...Thestrals will sometimes go after birds, of course, but Hagrid's got the Hogwarts thestrals well trained not to touch owls..."

"Ah..." Harry heard Allen said, and the white haired boy fell silent as a thoughful look veiled down on his face.

"Do you know how far this owl's traveled, Potter?" McGonagal asked with a sharp look at Harry.

"Er," Harry said. "From London, I think."

Grubby-Plank peered closely at Hedwig's wing with a monocle in her eyes. "I should be able to sort this out if you leave her with me, Potter," she said. "She shouldn't be flying long distances for a few days, in any case."

"Er-right-thanks," Harry muttered, and the bell rang for break.

"No problem," Grubby-Plank said with a gruff voice, turning back into the staffroom.

"Just a moment, Wilhelmina!" McGonagall said. "Potter's letter!"

"Oh yeah!" Harry gasped, having completely forgotten about the letter with all of the fuss with Hedwig and her wing. Grubby-Plank handed him the letter and disappeared into the room. Harry smiled guiltily and reassuringly as Hedwig staring art him as if in disbelief that he would abandon her in this state with a stranger.

"Let's go, Harry," Allen said, and the boys turned to go.

"Potter!"

"Yes, Professor?"

McGonagall galnced up and down the corridor, which was slowly starting to fill up with students. After a moment, she looked at Harry and said, "Bear in mind, that channels of communication in and out of Hogwarts may be being watched, won't you?"

"I-" Harry began, but McGonagall shut the staffroom door in his face. Harry stared at the door for a while before the crowd of students began to swept him out into the courtyard, followed closely by Allen, who'd gripped the back of his robes as not to get lost.

"Intercepted," the Exorcist said. "Your owl was intercepted, and probably at the orders of the Ministry."


	23. Out of the Fire

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcist

Twenty-Three: Out of the Fire

* * *

**Disclaimers**: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from_ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

"The fireplace won't give you any answers if you're doing an essay for Potions," Lavi said to Harry that evening in the Gryffindor common room. "But of course, if you're thinking of ways to skip that class, you might want to look the other way where Fred and George are demonstrating ways to throw up in class and then stop the moment you're outside earshot." 

"Lavi!" Lenalee snapped, marching up to the red haired Exorcist. She gave him a sharp look and said, "You can't ruin people's education like that- and Harry's not thinking of ways to skip class or asking the fire for answers. He's waiting."

"For whom?" Lavi asked.

"For-"

"For his godfather," Allen said from his seat, slumped in the armchair with a large book resting on his chest. He'd given up on reading the darn thing a long time ago, but was too lazy to put it back. "He got a letter this morning, remember, Lavi?"

"Oh yeah, Hedwig," Lavi mumbled, understanding. "She alright?"

"Grubby-Plank's taking care of her."

Hermione sniffed loudly, looking disapprovingly at Fred and George.

"Just go and stop them, then!" Harry told her irritably, crossing out something on his parchment. He'd done that four times now.

"I can't, they're not _technically_ doing anything wrong," Hermione said through gritted teeth. "They're quite within their rights to eat the foul things themselves, and I can't a find a rule that says the other idiots aren't entitled to buy then, not unless they're proven to be dangerous in some way, and it doesn't look as though they are..."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione watched the twins and their show for a minute. "You know," Harry said as Jordan Lee collected gold from an eager crowd, "I don't get why Fred and George only got three O.W.L.s each. They really know their stuff..."

"Oh, they know flashy stuff that's no real use to anyone," Hermione grumbled.

"No real use?" Ron repeated in disbelief. "Hermione, they've got about twenty-six Galleons already..."

During the while until the audience around Fred and George dispersed and disappeared completely, Allen had fallen asleep in his chair and was twitching occasionally, his face contorted in a painful way, groaning and moaning out inaudible words. When Harry, Ron, and Hermione sent him alarmed looks, Lavi and Lenalee dismissed it as nothing to worry about. Lavi and Lenalee were watching Hermione's cat Crookshanks chase Lavi's hammer across the floor, and Ron, too, fell asleep sitting in his chair. But just when the twins went up to the dormitory, Hermione following them with a hard glare, and Harry was cleaning up his books, having given up on his essay, both he and Allen grunted, woke up, and Ron looked blearily into the fire.

"Sirius!" he gasped.

"Hi," the man said with a grin, and nodded at the Exorcists, who were standing off to the side, watching him in wonder.

"Hi," Harry, Ron, and Hermione chorused. Crookshanks gave up on Lavi's hammer and proceeded to try touching Sirius's face with his own.

"How're things?" Sirius asked.

"Not that good," Harry answered, watching as Hermione dragged her cat away from the flames. "The Ministry's forced through another decree, which means we're not allowed to have Quidditch teams-"

"-or secret Defense Against the Dark Arts groups?" Sirius finished.

There was a small pause.

"How did you know about that?" Harry demanded.

"You want to choose your meeting places more carefully," Sirius told him, grinning all the more broadly. "The Hog's Head, I ask you..."

"Well, it was better than the Three Broomsticks!" Hermione said indignantly. "That's always packed with people-"

"-which means you'd have been harder to overhear," Sirius said. "You've got a lot to learn, Hermione."

"Who overheard us?" Harry asked.

"Mundungus, of course," Sirius answered. At everyone's puzzled looks, he laughed. "He was the witch under the veil."

"That was Mundungus?" Harry said, shocked. "What was he doing in the Hog's Head?"

"What do you think he was doing?" Sirius replied impatiently. "Keeping an eye on you, of course."

"I'm still being followed?" Harry demanded angrily. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the three Exorcists stiffen and exchange nervous looks with each other.

"Yeah, you are," Sirius answered, "and just as well, isn't it, if the first thing you're going to do on your weekend off is organize an illegal defense group." He peered at Harry with, not anger or worry, but with obvious pride.

"Why was Dung hiding from us?" Ron asked. "We'd've liked to've seen him."

"He was banned from the Hog's Head twenty years ago," Sirius said, "ans that barman's got a long memory. We lost Moody's spare Invisibility Cloak when Sturgis was arrested, so Dung's been dressing as a witch a lot lately...Anyway...First of all, Ron- I've sworn to pass on a message from you mother."

"Oh yeah?" Ron gulped.

"She says on no account whatsoever are you to take part in an illegal secret Defense Against the Dark Arts group. She says you'll be expelled for sure and you future will be ruined. She says there will be plenty of time to learn how to defend yourself later and that you are too young to be worrying about that right now. She also"- Sirius turned to Harry and Hermione- "advices Harry and Hermione no to proceed with the group, though she accepts that she has no authority over either of them and simply begs them to remember that she has their best interests at heart. She would have written all this to you, but if the owl had been intercepted you'd have been in real trouble, and she can't say it for herself because she's on duty tonight."

"On duty doing what?" Ron asked quickly.

"Never you mind, just stuff for the Order," Sirius said sharply. "So it's fallen to me to be the messenger and make sure you tell her I passed it all on, because I don't think she trusts me to.

"And you," he said to the Exorcists, who jumped slightly, apparently not having expected to be talked to. "Some of the other members've asked me to talk to you."

"To us?" Lavi repeated.

"Wants me to see if we could trust you, you see," Sirius said. "In this time, people from other places are hard to trust, you know."

"We understand," Allen said with a smile. "Well, what do you think?"

"I trust you all completely, seeing as Dumbledore is alright with you lot," Sirius grinned. "But you know, some people, ehm..."

"We might drop in sometime, seeing as we're no longer supposed to be in the classrooms," Lenalee said. "Over the holidays would be ideal for both of us, seeing as we can't leave the grounds while all the students are still here. We will come in groups of three so that half of us could protect the remaining students."

"I've heard about you from Komui," Sirius chuckled. "His sister. You're pretty smart- like Hermione."

Both girls flushed.

Ron was fiddling with a hole in the rug. "So you want me to say I'm not going to take part in the defense group?" he muttered.

"Me? Certainly not! I think it's an excellent idea!"

"You do?" Harry asked.

"Of course I do!" Sirius answered heartily. "D'you think your father and I would've lain down and taken orders from an old hag like Umbridge?"

"But- last term all you did was tell me to be careful and not take risks-"

'Last year all the evidence was that someone inside Hogwarts was trying to kill you, Harry!" Sirius said, sounding impatient once again. "This year we know that there's someone outside Hogwarts who'd like to kill us all, so I think learning to defend yourselves properly is a very good idea!"

"And if we do get expelled?" Hermione asked, looking quizzical.

"Hermione, this whole thing was your idea!" Harry said, stunned.

"I know it was...I just wondered what Sirius thought," she said, shrugging.

"Well, better expelled and able to defend yourselves than sitting safely in school without a clue," Sirius shrugged back.

"Hear, hear," Harry, Ron, and Lavi said enthusiastically.

"So, how are you organizing this group?" Sirius asked. "Where are you meeting?"

"Well, that's a bit of a problem now," Harry said. "Dunno where we're going to be able to go..."

"How about the Shrieking Shack?" Sirius suggested.

"Hey, that's an idea!" Ron said, but Hermione shook her head and made a skeptical noise, making everyone turn to her.

"Well, Sirius, it's just that there were only four of you meeting in the Shrieking Shack when you were at school," she said, "and all of you could transform into animals and I suppose you could all have squeezed under a Invisibility Cloak if you'd wanted to. But there are twenty-eight of us and none of us is an Animagus, so we wouldn't need so much an Invisibility Cloak as an Invisibility Marquee-"

"Fair point," Sirius said, looking crestfallen. "Well, I'm sure you'll come up with somewhere...There used to be a pretty roomy passageway behind that big mirror on the fourth floor, you might have enough space to practice jinxes in there-"

"Fred and George told me it's blocked," Harry said with a shake of his head. "Caved in or something."

"Oh..." Sirius frowned. He glanced once at Lavi, who was whispering something into Allen's ear. "Well, I'll have a think and get back to-"

He broke off, and that was when Allen gasped. "Sirius," the boy said hastily. "Communications are..-"

"What are you talking about, Allen?" Ron asked, and Harry said, "Sirius?" but the man was staring intently into the solid brick wall of the fireplace.

And he vanished. Harry goggled at the empty flames for a moment, then looked at Ron and Hermione in alarm.

"Why did he-?"

Hermione jerked back from the fire with a terrified gasp, staring at it, as a large hand flew out of the flames, groping around, as if looking for something. It was a chubby hand, with short stubby fingers, wearing ugly old-fashioned rings that Harry recognized with a sinking heart.

"Let's go," Lavi said, his eye glued on the fat hand, as if it was a monster ready to strike. "Dormitory." When no one moved, he said louder, "Come on!"

They all ran for it at the sound of Lavi's voice. When he reached the door to the boys' dormitory, Harry turned around. The hand of Dolores Umbridge was still snatching at the flames, as if it knew exactly where Sirius Black's hair had been and was dead-set on seizing him.

Behind him, Allen and Lavi were also staring at Umbridge's hand, but on their faces were looks of exasperation and weariness, as if the appearance of the hand was like the appearance of another army of Akuma to them. Harry guessed it probably was.

The boys bid good-night to the girls, and Harry and Ron immediately fell asleep in their beds. Allen waited until he heard them snoring, and then he walked over to the window nearby his bed. He gingerly fiddled with the lose windowpane, shaking it from side to side until it came loose, and gently put it on the floor.

"Timcampy, come here," he whispered, one foot resting on the sill. When his golden golem was perched safely on his shoulder, Allen hoisted himself out of the window and onto a brick sticking out of the tower wall. Repeating in his mind to not look down at the five hundred feet drop below, he carefully climbed to the roof and sat down.

Overhead, the nearly full moon shone bright. Allen doubted that anyone knew about his secret place on the tall tower, and he hoped no one did. It was only because of his natural sense of balance that Allen was able to stay on the titling surface without falling and killing himself.

"Beautiful, isn't it, Timcampy?" he asked, and Timcampy shivered as if in response. "Wish Mana's seeing this too, through me."

An owl flew by, a handsome barn owl, with a rat held tightly in his beak. He circled Allen in a wide circle, and Timcampy took it as an invitation to fly after it. Allen guessed the golem had a fascination for other flying animals, for Timcampy often chased after butterflies during their missions. Allen didn't mind, but of course, if there ever as a flying horse, he hoped Timcampy would never chase after that one...

It was at that moment when something large and winged flew out of the forest by the castle. From afar, Allen could only tell that its wings were slightly bat-like, and that it was shaped like a horse.

"What was _that?" _he said, stunned, as the creature disappeared into the trees once again.


	24. The Room of Requirement

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcist 

Twenty-Four: The Room of Requirement  
**

* * *

**

**Disclaimers**: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

The next morning, the Exorcists were gathered by the Whomping Willow under the dark, gray, cloudy sky. The wind blew crisp and hard, and needle-like droplets of water splattered on the surface of everything it could reach. 

All of them were drenched from head to toe in the never-ceasing rain. They all wondered why such place was chosen for their meeting place on such a day, but they, figuring that all six of them had seen worst circumstances, took it as a bit of 'training' and settled to complaining about it amongst themselves while discussing the current situation of their mission.

"I _swear_, Allen," Lavi said heatedly, wiping water out of his eyes, "Umbridge knew about last night because the Ministry is keeping watch over communications!"

"I know, I know, Lavi," Allen said back irritably as he dodged getting hit by a large branch that was swinging itself wildly. He gripped tightly to another branch when his feet slipped on the wet bark, cursing the weather and getting more irritated by the second. The older boy had said the same thing five minutes ago, and five minutes before that as well, and five minutes before that... "They're not just reading letters anymore, I'm sure any and every way of Hogwarts communicating with the outside world is being watched by the Ministry." 

"But why?" Lenalee asked, jumping onto another branch to keep within hearing range of the others.

"I think it is because the Ministry thinks Dumbledore is forming his own private army," Arystar Krory answered, balancing himself on a moving branch, and Miranda Lotto, gripping tightly onto his coat, nodded her pale face in agreement.

"These- are- so- _annoying_!" Lavi yelled suddenly, blocking a hit with his hammer. "Why, and who the _hell_, chose this place for a meeting?"

Kanda clicked his tongue loudly, a murderous look on his face.

"It's definitely dangerous," Lenalee and Allen said in unison.

"Honestly, the _Whomping Willow_ of all places," Allen sighed, and gasped in pain as a sharp twig scratched his arm.

"Ouch!""Stupid plant," Lavi whined, "Krorykins, do you think you can find a way to calm this damn thing down?"

"No, unfortunately," the man said with a disappointed look. "I'm sorry."

"At least we won't be overheard," Lenalee said, trying to find a bright side to their near- lethal meeting place.

"We can't even hear ourselves- ah!" Allen cried out as he was knocked off a branch. He landed painfully on a root. "Gosh, darn it!" he said angrily, grabbing a small twig and stabbing the oddly knotted root with it. To everyone's shock, the Whomping Willow immediately stopped it's rampage and came to an abrupt halt. "Oh."

Kanda and Lavi, who were apparently in the midst of jumping off their branches, were so stunned by the sudden lack of movement that fell off, landing on the ground beside Allen. Both of them grunted, rubbing their heads. Krory and Miranda both swayed on the spot but didn't fall, and Lenalee gripped the tree trunk tight to stop herself from slipping.

"Owwwie," Lavi said. "That was mean, Allen."

"Stupid Moyashi," Kanda grumbled.

"It's _my_ fault?" Allen demanded to the grumpy samurai. "I was the one knocked off by a branch!"

"Guys!" Lenalee snapped. "Quit arguing!"

"Cheh," Kanda tsked, folding his arms and sitting heavily on a root. Lavi fell back against the ground and fell silent while Allen leaned on the root he'd fallen on.

"Anyway," Allen said, "getting back to the topic, I guess it's obvious that communications are being monitored by the Ministry, and Umbridge must have found out that Sirius Black was talking to Harry Potter last night because of it."

"Agreed," Lavi and Lenalee said together.

"I don't think there was any other way she could have been so accurate," Miranda said, fiddling with her fingers. "You said she seemed to know exactly where Black was, didn't you?"

"Precisely," Lavi said. "As if she was right there, watching him, waiting for the right time to catch him."

"Besides that," Kanda cut in, "how did she find the connection between Black and the Gryffindor common room?"

Krory swooped down from the tree. "Kanda is right, is he not? She couldn't have been watching a single fireplace in the midst of all the fireplaces at Hogwarts."

"That-" Lenalee began.

"Is a good question," Lavi finished. "She always did seem to suspect Harry, of course, seeing as the Ministry of Magic is so dead-set that he'd a loony. But if that's the case, she could have also been watching Dumbledore's fire as well. How did she single it out?"

"Harry's letter from Sirius," Allen said suddenly, a look of surprised on his face.

"What?" Kanda and Krory said.

"Umbridge must have read Sirius's letter," Allen said, mostly muttering to himself.

"You mean, when she attacked Harry's owl?" Lavi asked, appalled.

"Owl post _is_ a way of communication," Kanda mumbled.

"But _attacking an owl?_" Lenalee said.

"I know it sounds insane," Allen replied bitterly to the samurai's obvious disbelief, "but that seems like the only way she could pinpoint Gryffindor Tower as the place Sirius would appear. Whether she knew if it was Sirius or not is a different story," he added. "She might have, but she might have not either."

"Either way, it's obvious Harry's in deep trouble," Lenalee said worriedly.

"Yeah, well- gah!" Kanda exclaimed, and nobody asked him why, for it was obvious. The Whomping Willow had come back to life and, with a large branch wound tightly around Kanda's stomach, was swinging him back and forth in a circle.

"Allen!" Lavi cried, his face torn between terror, annoyance, and amusement as the Whomping Willow's branches twisted around him and began to swing him through the air. "Allen! Stab the root again!"

"I would if I can!" Allen called back as a branch grabbed him around the ankle, dragging him violently across the ground.

"_Immobulus_!" Lenalee yelled, pointing her wand at the tree. Allen felt his head spinning as the Willow came to a violent halt, making him dangle upside-down in midair. He could see Lavi looking green in the face as he hung from one of the higher branches, and Kanda was livid, slamming his fist against the tree as if it was offensive. In a way, it was...

"Are you okay, Allen?" Krory asked, untwisting the branch from around Allen's ankle. With a yelp, the boy fell to the ground. "Allen!"

"I'm fine," Allen answered, sounding quite delirious, his words slurred. His head was hurting badly, having landed on it. Above, Lavi was going hysterical, choking on his own laughter. "Don't laugh, Lavi," he said, and sneezed violently.

"We might want to go inside now," Miranda suggested as she and Krory climbed down to the ground.

"Right," Kanda said and jumped down, grabbing Lavi by his collar on the way down, ripping him out of the branch's hold. The latter crashed onto the soppy grass, and when he stood upright, his face was covered with mud. Lenalee joined them as well, and said,

"Let's go."

The Exorcists, dripping wet, sprinted into the entrance hall, grumbling and whining about the cold, the weather, and their own sogginess. With a shiver and a sniff, Lavi and Krory bid them all good-bye and left for their respective dormitories, followed by Lenalee and Miranda, and Kanda disappeared down the corridor, leaving Allen to stand alone in the hall, a puddle forming around his feet.

The boy felt another gush of wind pass through his clothes, and with a violent shake of his shoulders, he rushed up to Gryffindor Tower, hoping he might find nice, dry clothes in his trunk upstairs.

He was halfway up the staircase when he heard a voice calling him: "Allen, hey Allen."

It was Ron and Harry, dressed in their soaked robes, gripping their brooms and squishing-squashing up the stairs. Harry seemed deep in thought, not even aware of Allen's presence, so the boy reasoned that it was Ron who called him.

"Hi," they said to each other.

"Where've you been all day?" Ron asked as the threesome resumed their climb up the stairs.

"Meeting," Allen quietly, eying the paintings hanging along the wall., "but we're not supposed to say too much about it, you see. How was practice?"

Ron's face clouded to a point where it matched the sky outside. He grumbled, "Lousy again. The weather was bad, and we couldn't see anything."

"Ah, that's too bad," Allen said.

Ron grimaced, and said to the portrait of the Fat Lady, "_Mimbulus Mimbletonia._"

"I think I'll go grab some dry clothes," Allen said, and left for the boys' dormitories. Inside, he found Lavi waiting for him. "Hi."

"Hey," Lavi greeted cheerfully, and continued reading as Allen took of his water-heavy coat. "Is Ron and Harry back?" he asked.

"Yes, and they're working on their homework right now," Allen answered and poked his head through the collar of his new shirt, which was another of the things he'd borrowed from Johnny. He laid his wet clothes on a bedside table and flicked his wand in a complicated pattern. Steam came out of the tip of it, effectively drying the fabric. Once it was completely dry, Allen bid good-night to a yawning Lavi and returned to the common room just as Ron retired to bed. They merely nodded at each other before the door closed between them.

Harry was sitting by the fireplace reading, although Allen was more than sure that he was most likely reading and rereading a single paragraph over and over without taking anything in. The dazed, thoughtful look on the black haired boy's face was proof of that. He kept rubbing at his scar as well, as if it were itching, hurting. Allen didn't know, but he decided not to bother Harry's thoughts and merely sat down across from him, grabbed a scrap of parchment off the ground, and began doodling absentmindedly. He noted that Harry fell asleep after a while, and his own fatigue was seeping into his consciousness as well when-

"Good evening, Allen Walker, sir," a voice squeaked, and Allen awoke with a start. He blinked once, twice, and found himself staring into large, tennis ball sized eyes that shone brightly in the faint light from outside.

"Who are you?" Allen asked sitting up straight again.

"Dobby, sir, Dobby the house elf," the voice said, and as moonlight fell on the tiny creature, Allen immediately recognized the elf from his first day at Hogwarts. Something hooted softly, and Harry's snow white owl Hedwig gazed down affectionately at Allen from her perch on Dobby's head. Was it his imagination? Dobby's body seemed strangely larger than he remembered, and he was a lot taller as well...Behind him, Harry gave a soft groan in his sleep and stretched his arm forward, as if reaching for something...he nearly knocked over a candle...

"Harry Potter, sir!" Dobby squeaked.

Harry awoke with a jump and looked around frantically. Because his glasses were slightly askew, and the common room was significantly dark, he probably couldn't see Dobby at all. "Whozair?" he called sleepily.

"Dobby has your owl, sir!" Dobby said to Harry and turned to face the boy.

"Dobby?" Harry repeated thickly, squinting in Dobby's general direction. Moonlight fell on the elf again, and Allen finally saw the reason behind Dobby's strangely enlarged body: He was wearing what looked like all the hats Hermione and he'd ever knitted, stacked up on top of another so that his head seemed at least two or three feet taller than it really was. Hedwig was balanced on top of that pile, hooting happily at the sight of her master.

"Dobby has volunteered to return Harry Potter's owl!" Dobby said cheerfully, his small face bright with happiness. "Professor Grubby-Plank says she is all well now, sir!"

He bowed, then, so deeply that his long nose brushed the surface of the carpeted floor, and Hedwig hopped off the hats onto the arm of Harry's chair. Harry thanked him , stroking the owl's head and smiling at both of them. "Er...have you been talking _all _the clothes Hermione's been leaving out?" he asked.

Allen recognized, at once, a pair of socks that Dobby was wearing (along with another dozen pairs, of course) as one he had made during one of the rare times when he joined Hermione in knitting elf clothes. With a nervous feeling, he also recognized the design on a scarf around the elf's neck. Dobby patted it happily and said, "Oh no, sir. Dobby has been taking some for Winky, too, sir."

"Who's Winky?" Allen asked, and Harry looked up at him as if he'd just noticed him. "Hello to you too, Harry."

"Hi," Harry mumbled, and said, "Winky's a house elf I met last summer. So, Dobby, how is Winky?"

Dobby's ears drooped, and a cloudy look crossed his face. "Winky is drinking lots, sir," he said sadly, and launched into a long story about how Winky the house elf didn't care for clothes and how all the other house elves refused to clean Gryffindor Tower because (Allen felt a sinking feeling of guilt in his stomach) of all the hats and clothes lying around and how it was insulting to them. But Dobby cheered up at the moment and finished happily, "Dobby does it all himself, sir, but Dobby does not mind, sir, for he always hopes to meet Harry Potter and Allen Walker"- Harry sent Allen a confused look, and Allen shrugged- "and tonight, sir he has got his wish!" He sank into another deep bow and smiled at the both of them. "But Harry Potter does not seem happy. Dobby heard him muttering in his sleep. Was Harry Potter having bad dreams?"

"Not really bad," Harry said, sending another look to Allen, this one pointed and with the message, _I'll tell you later._ "I've had worse," he told Dobby.

The elf peered at Harry curiously, his large orblike eyes questioning. Then he said, seriously, ears drooping once more, "Dobby wishes he could help Harry Potter, for Harry Potter set Dobby free and Dobby is much, much happier now..."

Harry smiled at him. "You can't help me, Dobby, that thanks for the offer..." He bent down to pick up his Potions book, and the pearly scar on the back of his hand flew into both his and Allen's eyes.

"Wait a moment-" Allen began.

"-there _is _something you can do for me, Dobby," Harry said slowly.

"Name it, Harry Potter, sir!"

"I need to fine a place where twenty-eight people can practice Defense Against the Dark Arts without being discovered by any of the teachers. Especially," Harry said.

"Professor Umbridge," Allen said firmly.

Both boys expected Dobby's smile to vanish, to say it was impossible or that he would try, but Dobby gave a skip, his ears waggled, and he clapped his hands together.

"Dobby knows the perfect place, sir!" he told them happily. "Dobby heard it from the other house elves when he came to Hogwarts, sir. It is known by us as the Come and Go Room, sir, or else as the Room of Requirement!"

"Why?" Allen asked.

"Because it is a room that a person can only enter when they have real need of it," Dobby explained. "Sometimes it is there, and sometimes is is not, but when it appears, it is always equipped for the seeker's needs. Dobby has used it, sir, when Winky has been very drunk. He has hidden her in the Room of Requirement and he has dound antidotes to butterbeer there, and and a nice elf-sized bed to settle her on while she sleeps it off, sir...And Dobby knows Mr. Filch has found extra cleaning materials there when he has run short, sir, and-"

"-and if you really need a bathroom," Harry said, "would it fill itself with chamber pots?"

"Dobby expects so, sir," Dobby said, nodding eagerly. "It is a most amazing room, sir."

"How many people know about it?" Allen asked again.

"Ver few, sir," Dobby answered, turning to him now. "Most people sumble across it when they needs it, sir, but often they never finds it agai, for they do not know that it is always there waiting to be called into service, sir."

"It sounds brilliant," Harry nearly exclaimed. "It sounds perfect, Dobby. When can you show me where it is?"

"Anytime, Harry Potter, sir," Dobby answered, his face shining with delight at seeing Harry's excitement. "We could go now, if you like!"

Harry made as if to get out of his chair to go upstairs and grab his Invisibility Cloak, but Allen sent him a glare and whispered, "_Reckless," _in an imitation of Hermione. Harry blinked, sat down, and said to Dobby with a stifled yawn,

"Not tonight, Dobby. This is really important...I don't want to blow it, it'll need proper planning...Listen, can you just tell me exactly where this is Room of Requirement is and how to get in there?"


	25. Dumbledore's Army

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcist 

Twenty-Five: Dumbledore's Army  
**

* * *

**

**Disclaimers**: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

Allen had told her this morning about the newly found place for their secret Defense Against the Dark Arts group. It was well-hidden, well-protected, probably impossible for Dolores Umbridge to find. In other words, it was safe, or so he said in his ever promising, confident way that always made her believe in him. 

So why, Lenalee wondered, was she still so worried?

_We're doing the right thing, aren't we? _she thought, the wind blowing in through the window and playing with her black hair. _We're not doing anything wrong, are we?_

It was a difficult question to answer. She wondered if it would get in the way of their mission at all, or if it would help them, if they were even _allowed _to get help from outsiders. Either way, the thought of learning something illegally in a magically hidden classroom somehow put her at unease. Wasn't this a piece of cake compared to all of the other things they'd gone through? Lavi had insisted it was a simple training for them, that they'd never encounter a near-death experience by learning illegal magic. He wasn't mistaken, was he?

But if he was, if he and Allen were wrong, what would happen? To the mission, to them, to everyone- if everything went wrong, would she be able to depend on them for the rest of the way, or would such mistake make sure that no one would be able to do anything...?

"Lenalee?"

Hermione's voice jerked her roughly back into reality, and Lenalee was surprised to see that the sky was a purplish tinge and Hermione was tugging on her sleeve, saying, "Allen and Lavi are calling you."

"Oh," Lenalee gasped softly and smiled, "thanks. I'll see you later then."

"It's not like you to not hear us," Lavi commented as the three Exorcists left the Gryffindor common room together. "Were you thinking about Home?"

"Huh? Oh-yes, I was," Lenalee said hastily, feeling guilty that she had just been doubting him, and she glanced at Allen who was watching her curiously. Coud he see the lie in her eyes?

If he did, he didn't show it. He just smiled understandingly at her and patted her shoulder, saying, "Everyone's worried, but we'll be going home soon, don't worry, Lenalee."

That smile again.

Lenalee felt her heart lighten. She nodded and followed the boys down the hall to the staircase leading upstairs. "Yeah," she whispered, "we'll be going home."

Those eyes, so confident. Why did it make her believe so much?

"Where was it again?" Lavi asked Allen.

"The seventh floor opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy being clubbed by those trolls," Allen answered. "That's what Dobby the house elf said."

"Speaking of house elves, what happened you and Hermione and spew?"

"Actually, it's S.P.E.W. and it stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare," Allen said, "and I really don't know how much she progressed over the past few weeks. I really haven't been doing much in it, anyway."

"We're here," Lenalee said loudly, grabbing the boys by their collar and pointing to the tapestry beside them. The two of them had been so into their conversation that they hadn't realized they'd arrived at their destination.

"What now?" Lavi asked.

"We have to concentrate hard on what we need, Dobby said, and walk past this wall three times," Allen said, and the three Exorcists immediately did so, concentrating hard on the thought, _We need somewhere to learn to fight where they can't find us..._

_"_What the _bloody hell _are you three doing?" Kanda's voice cut through them on their third walk down the hall. Allen saw the samurai's eyes flicker between them and the stretch of wall. "Walking past a door?"

"Is this the room the house elf told you about, Allen?" Miranda and Krory asked as they appeared behind Kanda, looking anxiously at the door that wasn't there before.

"The Room of Requirement," Lavi confirmed, putting on hand on the knob. "Let's go in, shall we, guys?"

"Where's Komui?" Lenalee asked, the absense of her brother being something that never ceased to catch her attention.

"He's not a wizard," Kanda answered simply, opening to door just as Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked around the corner. "We're able to use magic because we're accomodaters of the Innocence crystals or we somehow have magical blood in us. Komui is neither because he once tried to use my wand and nothing happened."

"Hi guys," Allen said to Harry and his friends. "Take a look."

"These will be good when we're practicing Stunning," Ron said, nudging one of the cushions on the floor with his foot. Hermione exclaimed at the rows of books along a wall and immediately sat down to read one of them. There was a soft knock at the door. Ginny, Neville, Lavendar, Parvati, and Dean walked in.

"Whoa," Dean said in an impressed tone. "What is this place?"

Harry launched into an explanation of the room, but several more people arrived before he'd finished and he started all over. Meanwhile, Allen and Lavi greeted anyone who entered, Lavi checking their name to make sure they were on the list, playfully of course, and by the time eight o'clock arrived, every cushion on the floor was occupied. Hermione placed her book carefully beside her, marking the page.

"Well," Harry began. "This is the place we've found for practices, and you've- er- obviously found it okay-"

"It's fantastic!" a Ravenclaw who Allen immediately recognized as the pretty Cho Chang exclaimed, and several people murmured their agreement.

"It's bizarre," Fred said with a frown. "We once hid from Filch in here, remember, George? But it was just a broom cupboard then..."

"Hey, Harry, what's this stuff?" Dean piped up, pointing to several objects and trinkets lying on a shelf at the end of the room.

"Dark Detectors," Harry answered shortly, walking over to them. Lenalee scooted out of the way. "Basically they all show when Dark wizards or enemies are around, but you don't want to rely on them too much, they can be fooled..." He gazed into a cracked mirror for a moment and turned back around. "Well, I've been thinking about the sort of stuff we ought to do first and- er- What, Hermione?"

"I think we ought to elect a leader," she said.

"Harry's leader," Cho said at once, sending Hermione an appalled look, and once again, others agreed with her. The Exorcists stood at the back, feeling a bit uneasy and detached from the rest of them.

"yes, but I think we ought to vote on it properly," Hermione retorted. "It makes it formal and gives him authority. So- everyone who thinks Harry ought to be our leader?"

Lenalee thought the election was a bit unneccessary, for everyone raised their hands. Hermione didn't seem to realize that none of the Exorcists were participating, though.

"Er-right, thanks," Harry mumbled. "And- _what, _Hermione?"

"I also think we ought to have a name. It would promote a feeling of team spirit and unity, don't you think?"

Angelina Johnson practically bounced with excitement. "Can we be the Anti-Umbridge League?" she asked hopefully.

"Or the Ministry of Magic Are Morons Group?" Fred suggested, and Lavi snickered. Allen's face twitched.

"I was thinking," Hermione said with a frown towards Fred, "more of a name that didn't tell everyone what we were up to, so we can refer to it safely outside meetings."

"The Defense Association?" Cho said. "The D.A. for short, so nobofy knows what we're taking about?"

Lenalee saw Ginny glance back at Allen, sending him a questioning look, and he shrugged back. Ginny said, "Yeah, the D.A.'s good. Only let's make it stand for Dumbledore's Army because that's the Ministry's worst fear, isn't it?"

"All in favor of the D.A.?" Hermione called, a bit bossily, sitting on her knees to count. "That's a majority- motion passed!"

As she pinned a piece of parchment with the list of all their names onto a nearby wall and wrote DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY across the top in large letters, Harry said, "Right, shall we get practicing then? I was thinking, the first thing we should to is _Expelliarmus,_ you know, the Disarming Charm. I know it's pretty basic, but I've found it really useful-"

"Oh, _please," _Zacharias Smith, a Hufflepuff Quidditch player, huffed with a roll of his eyes. "I don't think _Expelliarmus _is exactly going to help us against You-Know-Who, do you?"

"I've used it against him," Harry replied smoothly. "It saved my life last June. But if you think it's beneath you, you can leave."

Smith didn't move. Nobody did.

"Okay. I reckon we should all divide into pairs and practice."

"Would you like to join me, Lenalee?" Allen asked politely as everyone scattered to pair up with their friends. Lenalee saw Lavi drag a reluctant Kanda to a free space, and Krory and Miranda, who were getting along with each other fairly well, had gone off to find a safe place to practice. Glancing around, she saw that Harry had picked up a deserted Neville and was practicing with him as well. She smiled at Allen and accepted his offer.

Lenalee had expected Allen to be a good caster of spells. He had demonstrated as much during their short lived life as Hogwarts students. He was also a good teacher and would point out easy tips whenever Lenalee didn't do the spell particularly well. He was, in addition, a wonderful target. If any stray spells hit bookshelves, the books that flew into the air always found a way to come into contact with Allen's head. And being the gentle boy he was, whenever he Disarmed her, he would Summon her wand with a flick of his own and mumur of, "_Accio wand."_

Nine o'clock arrived quickly, and when Lenalee left the room with her companions, she couldn't help but look forward to their next meeting. "It was fun, ne?" Lavi asked cheerfully, and Lenalee nodded enthusiastically.

The weeks passed in a flash. The amount of files the Exorcists sorted out decreased overtime, and after a while, there was barely any to keep them occupied for an hour. By the end of two weeks, the only thing Lenalee really looked forward to was the D.A. meetings. But as the weeks disappeared, the first Quidditch match of the season came around the corner, and the meetings had to be put on hold. Lenalee decided to devote her time to help Ron get extra practice as a Keeper, in hopes of increasing his self confidence. She noticed that Allen and Ginny were often see talking to each other, sometimes in the common room and other times, walking by the large lake. She couldn't help but wonder why Ginny's boyfriend, Michael Corner never seemed angered by it, but when she once spotted him talking to Allen with grins on both their faces, she came to the conclusion that the boys were friends with each other. Hermione seemed to, almost on purpose, run into Kanda in the halls, and then she would tag along beside him, talking, and sometimes the samurai would be talking back to her. Lavi meanwhile, was always hanging around with the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan, although he never joined in when they tested their products on the first years. Krory seemed to be in love with the greenhouse, and Miranda, too, was with a smile whenever Lenalee spotted her. Even Komui was in a cheerful mood.

There were no Akuma attacks since the first Friday. Lenalee felt that that had some contribution to everyone's good moods. It was, indeed, a peaceful world compared to the one they called home. She sometimes felt that nobody would want to return to the Order when the time came for them to.

She could only hope not.

* * *

Hello,

I know it's a bit short...hehe.


	26. Hagrid's Return

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcist 

Twenty-Six: Hagrid's Return  
**

* * *

**

**Disclaimers**: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

The morning of the Quidditch match dawned bright and cold. When Lavi woke up, he saw Harry and Allen almost dragging a pale Ron out of the dormitories. He followed them to the Great Hall where he sat down between Allen and Lenalee, who were both trying their best to encourage Ron to eat some breakfast. 

"I must've been mental to do this," Ron croaked. "_Mental."_

_"_Don't be thick," Harry told him firmly, passing him some cereal. "You're going to be fine. It's normal to be nervous."

"I'm rubbish," Ron said. "I'm lousy. I can't play to save my life. What was I thinking?"

"Get a grip," Harry said back. "Look at that save you made with your foot the other day, even Fred and George said it was brilliant-"

Lenalee made a soft "uh-oh" sound and Ron gave Harry a tortured look. "That was an accident," he said miserably. "I didn't mean to do it- I slipped off my broom when none of you were looking and I kicked the Quaffle by accident."

"Well," Harry said quickly, "a few more accidents like that and the game's in the bag, isn't it?"

"How're you feeling?" Ginny asked Ron as she sat down beside Allen. Hermione sat next to her.

"He's just nervous," Harry answered for his friend, who was staring at his cereal bowl like it was his last meal.

"Well, that's a good sign," Hermione said encouragingly, "I never feel you perform as well in exams if you're not a bit nervous."

"Hello," greeted a dreamy voice from behind them. Allen and Lavi squawked in surprise and almost fell off the benches while Lenalee stared in shock at the top of Luna Lovegood's head. There sat a hat that looked like the life sized head of a lion.

"I'm supporting Gryffindor," she said, unnecessarily, pointing at her hat. "Look what it does..."

She tapped the hat with the tip of her wand, and the two Exorcist boys gasped in awe as the lion stretched open its mouth and gave an extremely realistic roar that made everyone in the Great Hall jump.

"It's good, isn't it?" Luna asked happily. "I wanted to have it chewing up a serpent to represent Slytherin, you know, but there wasn't time. Anyway...good luck, Ronald."

Luna drifted away, and, as if she had been waiting in line, Angelina hurried towards them with Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet. "When you're ready," the team captain said, "we're going to go straight down to the pitch, check out conditions and change."

"We'll be there in a bit," Harry assured her. "Ron's just got to have some breakfast."

He and Lenalee tried for ten more minutes for Ron to stuff something into his mouth, but it was to no avail. Eventually, they gave up and Harry and Ron stood up from the benches. Hermione grabbed the former's arm and pulled him to one side as Lenalee gave Ron some last minute encouragement.

"Don't let Ron see what's on those Slytherin's badges," Lavi heard Hermione whisper urgently, and Harry sent her a questioning look before the girl turned to Ron. "Good luck, Ron," she said, craning her neck and standing on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek. "And you, Harry-"

"Why were you so worked up about Ron?" Allen asked Lenalee innocently when she sat back down.

"I feel like I'm his coach because I helped him practice so much," she answered nochalantly. Suddenly, her eyes darkened and she said, "But the badges-"

"What badges?" Lavi asked.

"Look," Allen pointed at the robes of a passing Slytherin, and Lavi immediately understood. There was a shining silver badge on the Slytherin's chest, and etched in it were the words, _Weasley is our King._

"That can't mean anything good, can it?" Lavi asked his comrades, who sent him dark looks.

Of course it didn't.

The Quidditch match started with a shrill whistle, and the Exorcists all sat together with the Gryffindors, wearing borrowed clothes in the colors, red and gold. They were all taken in by the broom-riding players, all of whom flew in and out of sight at the speed of sound. They'd never seen any sports competition back home, but they didn't think they would ever see anything like this anywhere in their world.

"And it's Johnson, Johnson with the Quaffle, what a player that girl is," Lee Jordan's voice rang throughout the pitch, his commentary still easy to hear over the cheering and booing from the students, "I've been saying it for years but she still won't go out with me-"

"JORDAN!" McGonagall yelled.

"Just a fun fact, Professor, adds a bit of interest- and she's ducked Warrington, she's passed Montague, she's- ouch- been hit from behind by a Bludger from Crabbe...Montague catches the Quaffle, Montague heading back up the pitch and- nice Bludger there from George Weasley, that's a Bludger to the head for Montague, he drops the the Quaffle, caught by Katie Bell, Katie Bell of Gryffindor reverse passes to Alicia Spinnet and Spinnet's away-"

"GO HARRY!" Hermione and Ginny cheered. "RON!"

"dodges Warrington, avoids a Bludger- close call, Alicia- and the crowd are loving this, just listen to them, what's that they're singing?"

Lee paused in his commentary, and the faint singing from the crowd of green on the other side of the pitch suddenly gre loud and clear:

_Weasley cannot save a thing,_

_He canot block a single ring,_

_That's why Slytherins all sing:_

_Weasley is our King._

_Weasley was born in a bin,_

_He always lets the Quaffle in,_

_Weasley will make sure we win,_

_Weasley is out King._

_"-_and Alicia passes back to Angelina!" Lee shouted, resuming his commentary. Lavi thought he heard Allen swear colorfully from beside him, and he saw that Lenalee's cheeks were flushed with anger. "Come on now, Angelina- looks like she's got just the Keeper to beat!- SHE SHOOTS- SHE- aaaah..."

The Slytherin Keeper caught the Quaffle and threw it at a Chaser, who sped off towards the Gryffindor goals, zigzagging in between Alicia and Katie, and the singing from the crowds grew louder with every foot that the Chaser eliminated between him and Ron-

_Weasley is our King,_

_Weasley is our King,_

_He always let's the Quaffle in, _

_Weasley is our King._

_"-_and it's Warrington with the Quaffle, Warrington heading for the goal, he's out of Bludger range with just the Keeper ahead-"

"Let's go, Lavi," Allen said angrily, pulling the Bookman away by the arm. "Down, by the changing rooms. Something's bound to happen at the end of the match, and it's probably going to be down on the ground."

"What- but-"

"Come on! There's no way I'm going to listen to this singing anymore!"_  
_

Lavi agreed and the two of them clambered down the stairs, away from the rest of the crowd, to the ground floor. They sneaked through the shadows to avoid anyone nearby peeked out from under an arch to watch the match from below. There was an immense cheering from above, and a red clad figure slammed down onto the ground with such force that Lavi swore there would be a dent in the ground. But Allen's eyes were round with shock, and following the boy's gaze, Lavi saw that the person on the ground had messy, black hair...

"It's Harry, he just got hit by a Bludger."

Said boy disappeared behind the bright robes of his teammates, and in the distance, one of the teachers was yelling at a Slytherin Beater. The group around Harry spread out as Draco Malfoy approached them and opened his mouth. He spoke for a minute, and suddenly the Weasley twins lunged at him, just to be held back by the rest of their team. Malfoy seemed taken aback at first, but seeing that he was still safe, conitnued to talk with a truimphant sneer on his thin face. And then-

"Oh God," Lavi and Allen said, too stunned to move, as Harry let go of George and the two of them were on Malfoy at once, punching the boy. The Gryffindor players were screaming at them to stop, but the boys did so only when Madam Hooch yelled, _"Impedimenta!" _and knocked them off of Malfoy. The teacher yelled at Harry and George then, and when the two boys stomped off of the pitch, Allen and Lavi scurried after them, keeping a distance.

McGonagall marched up to Harry and George inside the castle and led them to her office. Allen and Lavi, knowing that she would not welcome them in, stood by the doors to listen, although they couldn't hear a thing. They had to leave, though, when they spotted Dolores Umbridge practically dance up to the door.

"We had better scram," Lavi whispered to Allen, and the two of them reluctantly retreated back outside onto the grounds and across the grounds where snow was slowly starting to fall. November had come with an abrupt change in the wather, bringing with it crisp cold winds and the constant threat of a storm. It was cold.

The two Exorcists walked around for about an hour, maybe three times did they pass the small hut by the forest, and it was on their fourth time around that they saw an abnormally large man stumble up to the door of the hut and open it. They recognized him at once as the escort on the first day of their mission-

"Hagrid!" Allen called, just enough for the man to hear. Hagrid turned to look at them, his face oddly dark, and he waved them over, saying,

"Get outta the cold, both of ye, get in, serve ye a cup o' tea."

"What happened to _you?" _Lavi asked the moment they were close enough to see the man's face. It was bruised, swollen, and bleeding. "Did you get mugged?"

"Sort o'," Hagrid gruffly.

"By _who?"_

_"_Giants."

"There are humans bigger than you?"

"No!" Hagrid said, looking shocked. "Giants! Not giant people- giants!"

Allen half sighed and half laughed at Lavi. He accepted the big mug of tea Hagrid handed them with a polite thanks, and watched with large eyes as Hagrid grabbed an oozing, greenish piece of meat and slapped it over the worst of his bruising. "You were on a mission of your own, Hagrid?" the boy asked.

"Ye could say so," Hagrid answered, "although I don't know why I'm telling students about this-"

"We got expelled on the First Friday," Lavi said.

"Blimey! Well, you're still Dumbledore's guests o' honor," Hagrid replied. "Should be able to trust yer lot."

"Hmm..."

Suddenly, there was a loud knocking at the door, and the big dog right by Allen's feet began to bark loudly. Hagrid jumped in alarm and stood up, almost pushing the two Exorcists into a corner.

"I'll bet that's-"

"Hagrid, it's us!" Harry's voice called from outside the door.

"Shoula known!" Hagrid called back, and tried to get around his dog. "Bin home three seconds...Out the way, Fang..._Out the way, _ye dozy dog..."

Hagrid opened the door, and from their location near the back of the hut, Allen and Lavi couldn't seen anything at all-

And then, Hermione screamed.

* * *

Hello readers, 

This chapter was a bit shorter than the usual. I think it's about the same length as the first one...oh, well. Had to end it here. Anyways, I've decided to start another D. Gray-Man fanfiction. Hope I finish both of them.


	27. The Gatekeeper's Tale

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcist 

Twenty-Seven: The Gatekeeper's Tale  
**

* * *

**

**Disclaimers**: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

"Merlin's beard, keep it down!" Hagrid said hastily, staring into the empty air. "Under that cloak, are ye? Well, get in, get in!" 

"I'm sorry!" Hermione gasped as she, Ron, and Harry suddenly materialized into the air inside the hut. "I just- oh, _Hagrid!"_

_"_It's nuthin', it's nuthin'!" Hagrid brushed her off, shut the door, and made to close the curtains. He glanced at the Exorcists, who shrugged and sipped their tea.

"What happened to you?" Harry demanded.

"Told ye, _nuthin'," _Hagrid repeated. "Want a cuppa?" he asked.

"Come off it," Ron said in a gruff voice, "you're in a right state!"

"I'm tellin' ye, I'm fine," Hagrid said. He turned to Harry. "Blimey, it's good ter see you three again- had good summers, did ye?"

"Hagrid, you've been attacked!" Ron said.

"Fer the las' time, it's nuthin'!"

"Would you say it was nothing if one of us turned up with a pound of mince instead of a face?" Ron asked.

"And what are you two doing here?" Harry demanded randomly at Allen and Lavi who gave him the strangest looks they could muster up with.

"That's really not the point-" Lavi began.

"You ought to go and see Madam Pomfrey, Hagrid," Hermione said anxiously. "Some of those cuts look nasty."

"I'm dealin' with it, alrigh'?" Hagrid asked, sounding anxious as well. He walked to the wooden table in the middle of the room, grabbed the piece of meat he'd put down, and tossed away the tea towel he'd placed over it. The soggy towel landed on top of Allen's head, but the boy merely grimaced.

"You're not going to ear that, are you, Hagrid?" Ron asked, looking closely and suspiciously at the meat. "It looks poisonous."

"It's s'posed ter look like that, it's dragon meat," Hagrid answered, and slapped the meat over his face. "An' I didn't get ter eat...Tha's better. It helps with the stingin', ye know."

"So are you going to tell us what's happened to you?" Harry asked.

"Can', Harry. Top secret. More'n me job's worth to tell ye that...besides that, can' go 'round talkin' ter students 'bout this..."

"_They _look like they know," Ron said, motioning to Allen and Lavi.

"They're differ'nt," Hagrid grunted.

"Did the giants beat you up, Hagrid?" Hermione asked, sounding almost shy.

Hagrid seemed to have a stroke. The dragon steak slid from his fingers and down his chest. Grabbing it up before it reached his belt, Hagrid slapped it back over his bruises and said, "Giants? Who said anythin' abou' giants? Who ye bin talkin' to? Who's told ye what I've- who's said I've bin- eh?"

"Hagrid," Allen groaned, and Lavi snorted with suppressed laughter.

"We guessed," Hermione said apologetically.

"Oh, ye did, did ye?" Hagrid asked, looking at her sternly.

"It was kind of...obvious," Ron said, and Harry nodded.

Hagrid glared at them, snorted, and threw the steak onto the table once again, and stumbled over to the whistling kettle of tea. "Never known kids like you three fer knowin' more'n ye oughta," he muttered to them, filling the mugs with tea, splashing boiling water everywhere. "An' I'm not complimentin' ye, neither. Nosy, some'd call it. Interferin'."

"You're smiling, Hagrid," Lavi said, and Allen elbowed him hard in the stomach, making him spit out his tea. "Ugh! What was that for?"

"So you have been to look for giants?" Harry asked, grinning as he sat down at Hagrid's giant table. Hermione and Ron joined him, and Hagrid set tea in front of each of them. The giant man nodded at Allen and Lavi, who sat down on his bed with their cups of tea. Hagrid picked up his steak and placed it roughly over his face once again.

"Yeah, all righ'," he said gruffly, "I have."

"And you found them?" Hermione asked in a quiet, hushed voice.

"Well, they're not taht difficult ter find, ter be honest," Hagrid answered. "Pretty big, see."

"Where are they?" Ron said.

"Mountains."

"So why don't Muggles-?"

"They do," Hagrid cut in darkly. "O'ny their deaths are always put down ter mountainerin' accidents, aren' they?"

"Come on, Hagrid, tell us what you've been up to!" Ron urged. "Tell us about being attacked by the giants and Harry can tell you about being attacked by the dementors-"

Hagrid choked on his tea, coughed it up, and dropped the steak all at the same time. Harry, Ron, and Hermione flinched back from the mess on the table. The steak slid off the wooden surface and landed with a muffled _splat _onto the floor.

"Whadda ye mean, attacked by dementors?" Hagrid demanded.

"Didn't you know?" Hermione asked him with her eyes as large as saucers.

"I don' know anything that's been happenin' since I left. I was on a secret mission, wasn' I, didn' wan' owls followin' me all over the place- ruddy dementors! Ye're not serious?"

"Yeah, I am," Harry said, "they turned up in Little Whinging and attacked my cousin and me, and then the Ministry of Magic expeled me-"

"WHAT?"

"-and I had to go to a hearing and everyitng but tell us about the giants first."

"You were _expelled_?"

"Tell us about your summer and I'll tell you about mine," Harry said.

Hagrid glared at him through one good eye, his other one swollen shut through the nasty bruisings. Harry returned the gaze with a look of innocent determination. Hagrid must have been resisting it for as long as he could, but in the end, he sighed and said in a defeated tone, "Oh, all righ'." He bent down and tugged the dragon steak out of his dog Fang's mouth and slapped it over his face again, ignoring Hermione when she whimpered about hygiene. "Well, we set off right after term started," he began. "After you came," he added to the Exorcists.

"Madame Maxime went with you?" Hermione asked at once, and Allen remembered her as the half-giant headmistress of the French magic school that Ginny had told him about before.

"Yeah, tha's right," Hagrid answered gruffly, and his face softened a great deal. "Yeah, it was jus' the pair of us. An' I'll tell ye this, she's not agraid of roughin' it, Olympe. Ye know, she's a fine, well-dressed woman, an' knowin' where we was goin' I wondered 'ow she'd feel abou' clamberin' over boulders an' sleepin' in caves an' tha', bu' she never compained once."

"You knew where you were going?" Harry said. "You know where the giants were?"

"Well, Dumbledore knew, an' he told us..."

"Are they hidden?" Ron asked. "Is it a secret, where they are?"

"Not really," Hagrid answered, shaking his shaggy head. "It's jus' that mos' wizards aren' bothered where they are, s' long as it's a good long way away. But where they are's very difficult ter get ter, fer humans anyway, so we needed Dumbldore's instructions. Took us abou' a month ter get there-"

"A _month?"_ Ron repeated. "But- why couldn't you just grab a Portkey or something?"

"We're bein' watched, Ron," Hagrid said in a muffled voice.

"What d'you mean?"

"Ye don' understand," Hagrid said. "The Ministry's keepin' an eye on Dumbledore an' anyone they reckon's in league with him, an'-"

"We know about that," Lavi interrupted. "We know about the Ministry watching Dumbledore-"

"So you couldn't magic to get there?" Ron asked. "You had to act like Muggles _all the way?"_

_"_Well, not exactly all the way," Hagrid replied. "We jus' had ter be careful, 'cause Olympe an' me stick out a bit-"

Both Lavi and Ron hid a snort at that, but the former once again earned a hit from his friend.

"-so we're not hard ter follow. We was pretendin' we was goin' on holiday together, so we got ter France an' we made like we was headin' fer where Olympe's school is, 'xause we knew we was bein' tailed by someone from teh Ministry. We had to go slow, 'cause I'm not really s'posed ter use magic an' we knew the Ministrry'd be lookin' fer a readon ter run us i. But we managed ter five the berk tailin' us the slip round abou' Dee-John-"

"Ooooh, Dijon?" Hermione gasped excitedly. "I've been there on holiday, did you see-?"

"Hermione-" Allen began, and Ron sent her a look that made Hermione fall silent.

"We chanced a bit o' magic after that, and it wasn' a bad journey," Hagrid continued. "Ran into a couple o' mad trolls on the Polish border, an' I had a slight disagreement with a vampire in a pub in Minsk, but apart from tha', couldn't'a bin smoother.

"An' then we reached the place, an' we started trekkin' up through the mountains, lookin' fer signs of 'em...

"We had ter lay off the magic once we got near 'em. Partly 'cause they don' like wizards an' we didn' want ter put their backs up to soon, and partly 'cause Dumbledore had warned us You-Know-Who was bound ter be after the giants an' all. Said it was odds on he'd sent a messnger off ter them already. Told us ter be very careful of drawin' attention to ourselves as we got nearer in case there was Death Eaters around."

"Go on!" Harry urged as Hagrid paused to take a gulp of tea.

"Found 'em," Hagrid said shortly. "Went over a ridge on nigh' an' there they was, spread ou' underneath us. Little fires burnin' below an' huge shadows...It was like watchin' bits o' the mountain movin'."

"How big are they?" Ron whispered the question.

"'Bout twenty feet," Hagrid said offhandedly. "Some o' the bigger ones mighta bin twenty-five."

Lavi and Allen exchanged bewildred looks with each other. "And how many were there?" Allen asked.

"I reckon abou' seventy or eighty."

"Is that all?" Hermione asked.

"Yep, eighty left, an' there was loads once, musta bin a hundred different tribes from all over the world. But they've bin dyin' out fer ages. Wizards killed a few, o' course, but mostly they killed each other, an' now they're all dyin' out faster than ever. They're not made ter live bunched up together like tha'. Dumbldore says it's our fault, it was the wizards who forced 'em to go an' stick together fer their own protection."

"So," Harry said, "you saw them and then what?"

"Well, we waited till morning, didn' want ter go sneakin' up on 'em in the dark, fer our own safety," Hagrid said. "'Bout three in the mornin' they fell asleep jus' where they was sittin'. We didn' dare sleep. Fer one thing, we wanted ter make sure none of 'em woke up an' came up where we were, an' fer another, the snorin' was unbelievable. Casled an avalanche near mornin'.

"Anyway, once it was light we wen' down ter see 'em."

"Just like that?" Ron said in awe. "You just walked right into a giant camp?"

"Well, Dumbledore told us how ter do it. Give the Gurg gifts, show some respect, ye know."

"Give the _what _gifts?" Harry and Allen asked.

"Oh, the Gurg-"

"Means the chief," Lavi answered for Hagrid. "Learned from panda geezer when I was little, didn't think it would come to use though. Back then, I didn't even know it was for giants-"

"How could you tell which one was the Gurg?" Ron asked.

Grunting in amusement, Hagrid answered, "No problem. He was the biggest, the ugliest, an' the laziest. Sittin' there waitin' ter be brought food by the others. Dead goats an' such like. Name o' Karkus. I'd put him at twenty-two, twenty-three feet, an' the wait of a couple o' bull elephants. Skin like a rhino hide an' all."

"And you just walked up to him?"

"Well..._down _ter him, where he was lyin' in the valley. They was in this dip between four pretty high mountains, see, beside a mountain lake, an' Karkus was lyin' by the lake roarin' at the others ter feed him an' his wife. Olympe an' I went down the mountainside-"

"But didn't they try and kill you when they saw you?" Ron asked.

"It was def'nitely on some of their minds," Hagrid shrugged, "but we did what Dumbledore told us ter do, which was to hold our gift up high an' keep our eyes on the Gurg an' ignore the othrs. So tha's what we did. An' the rest of 'em went quiet an' watched us pass an' we got right up ter Karkus's feet an' we bowed an' put our presents down in front o' him."

"What do you give a giant? Food?"

"That's what you would give Allen- OW!"

Hagrid chuckled. "Nah, he can get food all righ' fer himself. We took him magic. Giants like magic, jus' don' like us usin' it against 'em. Anyway, that firs' day we gave him a branch o' Gubraithian fire."

Hermione and Allen gasped, "Wow," but Harry, Ron, and Lavi frowned in puzzlement.

"A branch of-?"

"Everlasting fire," Hermione said impatiently, "you ought to know that by now, Professor Flitwick's mentioned it at least twice in class!"

"Well, anyway, Dumbledore'd bewitched this branch to burn evermore, which isn' somethin' any wixard could do, an' so I lies it down in the snow by Karkus's feet and says, 'A gift to the Burg of the giants from Albus Dumbledore, who sends his respectful greetings.'"

"And what did Karkus say?"

"Nothin'. Didn' speak English."

"You're kidding!"

"Didn' matter," Hagrid said, "Dumbledore had warned us tha' migh' happen. Karkus knew enough ter yell fer a couple o' giants who knew out lingo an' they translated fer us."

"And did he like the present?" Ron asked eagerly.

"Oh yeah, it went a down a storm once they understood what it was," Hagrid said, turning his dragon steak to the cooler side and replacing it over his eye. "Very pleased. So then I said, 'Albus Dumbledore asks the Gurg to speak with his messenger when he returns tomorrow with another gift.'"

"Why couldn't you speak to them that day?" Hermione asked.

"Dumbledore wanted us ter take it very slow. Let 'em see we kept our promises. _We'll come back with anoter present, _an' then we do come back with another present- gives a good impression, see? An' gives them time ter test out the firs' present an' find out it's a good one, an' get 'em eager fer more. In any asee, giants like Karkus- overload 'em with information an' they'll kill ye just to simplify things. So we bowed outta the way an' went off an' found ourselves a nice little cave ter spend the night in, an' the followin' mornin' we went back an' this time we found Karkus sittin' up waitin' fer us lookin' all eager."

"And you talked to him?"

"Oh yea. Firs' we presented him with a nice battle helmet- goblin-made an' indestructible, ye know- an' then we sat down an' we talked."

"What did he say?"

"Not much."

"What?" Allen and Lavi asked.

"Listened mostly," Hagrid said. "But there were good signs. He'd heard o' Dumbledore, heard he'd argues against the killin' of the last giants in Britian. Karkus seemed ter be quite int'rested in what Dumbledore had ter say. An' a few o' the others, 'specially the ones who had some English, they gathered round an' listened too. We were hopeful when we left that day. Promiser ter come back next day with anothe present.

"But that night it all wen' wrong."

"What d'you mean?" Ron said quickly.

"Well, like I say, they're not meant ter live together, giants," Hagrid said sadly. "Not in big groups like that. They can' help themselves, tehy hald kill each other every few weeks. The men fight each other an' the women fight each other, the remnants of the old tribes fight each other, an' that's even without squabbles over food an' the vest fires an' sleepin' spots. Ye'd think, seein' as how their whole race is about finished, they'd lay off each other, but..."

Hagrid, sighed deeply.

"That night a fight broke out, we saw it from the mouth of our cave, lookin' down on the valley. Went on fer ours, ye wouldn' believe the noise. An' when the sun the came up the snow was scarlet an' his head was lyin' at the bottom o' the lake."

"Who's head?" Hermione gasped.

"Karkus's. There was a new Gurg, Golgomath," Hagrid sighed again. "Well, we hadn' bargained on a new Gurg two days after we'd made friendly contact with the firs' one, an' we had a funny feelin' Golgomath wouldn' be so keen ter listen to us, but had ter try."

"You went to speak to him? After you watched him rip off another giant's head?"

"'Course we did, we hadn' gone all the way ter give up after two days! We wen' down with the next present we'd meant ter give ter Karkus.

"I knew it was no go before I'd opened me mouth. He was sitting there wearin' Karkus's helmet, leetin' at us as we got nearer. He's massive, one o' the biffest ones there. Black hair an' matchin' teeth an' a necklace o' bones. Human-lookin' bones, some of 'em. Well, I gave it a go- held out a great roll o' dragon skin- an' said, "A gift fer the Gurg of the giants-' Nex' think I knew, I was hangin' upside down in the air by me feet, two of his mates had grabbed me."

Hermione gasped and clapsed her hands to her mouth, and Harry demanded, "How did you get out of _that?" _

_"_Wouldn'ta done it if Olympe hadn' bin there. She pulled out her wand an' did some o' the fastes' spellwork I've ever seen. Ruffy Marvelous. Hit the two holdin' me right in the eyes with Conjunctive Curses an' they dropped me straightaway-"

"But don't giants-?" Allen started.

"Yeah. We were in trouble then, 'cause we'd used magic against 'em, an' that's what giants hate abou' wizards. We had ter leg it an' we knew there was no way we was going ter be able to match inter camp again."

"Blimey, Hagrid."

"So how come it's taken you so long to get home if you were only there for three days?" Hermione questioned.

"We didn' leave after three days!" Hagrid said, outraged. "Dumbledore was relyin' on us!"

"But you've just said there was no way you could go back!"

"Not by daylight, we couldn't, no. We just had ter rethink a bit. Spend a couple o' days lyin' low up in the cave an' watchin'. An' wha' w saw wasn' good."

"Did he rip off more heads?"

"No. I wish he had."

Allen coughed up the tea he had almost swallowed, and Lavi sputtered, "What d'you mean?"

"I mean we soon found out he didn' object ter all wizards- just us."

"Death Eaters?" Harry suggested quickly.

"Yep. Couple of 'em were visitin' him ev'ry day, bringin' gifts ter the Gurg, an' he wasn' dangling them upside down."

"How d'you know they were Death Eaters?" Ron asked.

"Because I recognized one of 'em," Hagrid growled. "Macnair, remember him? Bloke they sent ter kill Buckbeak? Maniac, he is. Likes killin' as much as Golgomath, no wonder they were gettin' on so well."

"So Macnair's persuaded the giants to join You-Know-Who?" Hermione asked desperately.

"Hold yer hippogriffs, I haven' finished me story yet!" Hagrid snapped, who, considering he had not wanted to tell anything to the three students, now seemed rather eager to get the story out. "Me an' Olympe talked it over an' we agreed, jus' 'cause the Gurg looked like favorin' You-Know-Who didn' mean all of 'em would. We had ter try an' persuafe some o' the others, the ones who hadn' wanted Golgomath as Gurg."

"How could you tell which ones they were?" Ron asked.

"Well, they were the ones bein' beaten to a pulp, weren' they? The ones with any sense were keepin' outta Golgomath's way, hidin' out in caves roun' the gully jus' like we were. So we decided we'd go pokin' round the caves by night an' see if we couldn't persuade a few o' them."

"You went poking around dark caves looking for giants?" Ron asked, and Lavi shook his head in disbelief.

"Well, it wasn' the giants who worried us most," Hagrid said. "We were more concerned abou' the Death Eaters. Dumbledore had told us before we wen' not ter tangle with 'em if we could avoid it, an' the trouble was they knew we was around- 'spect Golgomath told him about us. At night when the giants were sleepin' an' we wantedter be creepin' into the caves, Macnair an' the others one were sneakin' around the mountains lookin' fer us. I was hard put to stop Olympe jumpin' out at them...She was rarin' ter attack 'em...she's somethin' when she's roused, Olympe...Fiery, ye know...'spect it's the French in her..."

Hagrid gazed into the fire, suddenly lost in his own world. Both Allen and Harry allowed him about thirty minutes' reminiscence before they cleared their throats in unison. "So what happend? Did you ever get near any of the other giants?"

"What? Oh...oh yeah, we did. Yeah, on the third night after Karkus was killed, we crept outta the cave we'd bin hidin' in and headed back down inter the gully, keepin' our eyes skinned fer the Death Eaters. Got inside a few o' the caves, no go- then, in about the sixth one, we found three giants hidin'."

"Cave must've been cramped."

"Wasn' room ter swing a kneazle," Hagrid replied to Ron.

"Didn't they attack you when they saw you?" Hermione asked.

"Probably woulda done if they'd bin in any condition, but they was badly hurt, all three o' them," Hagrid said. "Golgomath's lot had beaten 'em unconscious; they'd woken up an' crawled inter the nearest shelter they could find. Anyway, one o' them had a bit of English an' 'e translated fer the others, an' what we hat ter say didnt seem ter go down too badly. So we kep' goin' back, visitin' the wounded...I reckon we had abou' six or seven o' them convinced at one poin'."

"Six or seven?" Ron repearted eagerly. "Well that's not bad- are they going to come over here and start fighting You-Know-Who with us?"

"Do you think it'll go _that _easily?" Lavi scoffed. "That's like us Exorcists trying to convince Akuma to fight against the Earl-"

"My master can do that, Lavi, remember what Bookman said?" Allen said, making his friend whine about cruelty and betrayal. "Oh, be quiet."

"What do you mean 'at one point,' Hagrid?" Hermione asked.

"Golgomath's lot raided the caves. The ones tha' survived didn' wan' no more ter do with us after that," Hagrid said sadly.

"So...so there aren't any giants coming?" Ron asked dissappointedly.

"Nope," Hagrid sighed, "but we did wha' we meant ter do, and gave 'em Dumbledore's message an' some o' them heard it an' I 'spect some o' them'll remember it. Just maybe, them that don' want ter stay around Golgomath'll move outta the mountains, an' there's gotta be a chance they'll remember Dumbledore's friendly to them...Could be they'll come..."

Allen downed the last of his now lukewarm tea and set the cup down on the ground. Stifling a yawn, he lied on his back on the bed, staring at the window where snow was slowly filling up. Beside him, Lavi had abandoned his tea and was slowly twirling it in the cup.

"Hagrid?" Hermione said after a while of silence, her voice quiet and soft.

"Mmm?"

"Did you...was there any sign of...did you hear anything aobut your...your...mother while you were there?"

Nobody answered.

"I'm sorry...I...forget it-"

"Dead," Hagrid said at last. "Died years ago. They told me."

'Oh...I'm...I'm really sorry," Hermione said in the smallest voice Allen had ever heard.

"No need," Hagrid said, although there was a slight gruffness to his voice. "Can' remember her much. Wasn' a great mother."

"But you still haven't explained how you got into this state," Ron said, changing the topic of conversation. "

"Or why you're back, so late," Harry added. "Sirius says Madame Maxime got back ages ago-"

"Who attacked you?" Ron said.

"I haven' bin attacked!" Hagrid said. "I-"

But the rest of his sentence, whatever it may have been, never reached their ears. It was lost in a sudden outbreak of rapping on the door that made Hermione gasp and drop her mug. Fang yelped, and all of them stared wide-eyed at the door. Allen saw someone small and squat move on the other side of the window.

"_It's her!" _he and Ron whispered.


	28. Old Hag

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcist 

Twenty-Eight: Old Hag **

* * *

**

**Disclaimers**E: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

She walked into Hagri'd small hut, looking haugty and somewhat taken aback by the messiness of it. She glared at Fang and hissed, "Get away." 

"Er-I don't want ter be rude," Hagrid said, glancing apologetically at Fang and looking worriedly at the corner of the room where Harry, Ron, and Hermione hid under Harry's Invisibility Cloak, "but who the ruddy hell are you?"

"My name is Dolores Umbridge," she said absentmindedly, glancing at the broken mug on the floor. Allen couldn't help but notice the way she spoke to Hagrid: loud and slow, as if she were talking to a rather slow-witted foreigner. She then shot a look at Hagrid's bed on which he and Lavi were sitting innocently. "Good evening, both of you."

"Hello," Lavi said, and Allen regarded her coolly.

"Dolores Umbridge?" Hagrid repeated, trying to get her attention away from the Exorcists. "I thought you were one o' them Ministry- don' you work with Fudge?"

"I was Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, yes," Umbridge answered, looking away from the boys and sweeping the hut with suspicious eyes, taking in every detail. "I am now the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher-"

"Tha's brave of ye," Hagrid said, "there's not many'd take tha' job anymore-"

"-and Hogwarts High Inquisitor," Umbridge finished her sentence, not showing any sign she'd heard Hagrid at all.

"Wha's that?"

"Precisely what I was going to ask," Umbridge pointed at the broken mug that Hermione had dropped.

"Oh, oh, tha' was...was Fang. He broke a mug. So I had ter use this one instead," Hagrid said hastily, pointing to the mug he had been using.

"We were having tea, see," Lavi added, motioning to his own mug.

"I heard voices," Umbridge said flatly. "More than three."

"That would have been us and-"

"I was talkin' ter Fang," Hagrid said.

"And he was talking back to you?"

"Well...in a manner o' speakin'. I sometimes say Fang's near enough human-"

"There are three sets of footprints in the snow leading from the bastle doors to your cabin," Umbridge said, eyeing Allen and Lavi. "And considering there are only you two here, there is an extra set of feet somewhere...?"

"Well, I on'y jus' got back," Hagrid replied, waving an enormous hand where his coat lay. "Maybe someone came ter call ealier an' I missed 'em."

"Ther are no footsteps leading away from your cabin door."

"But we're still here-"

"Like I said, there is an extra set of footprints if they belonged to you."

"Well I...I don' know why tha'd be..." Hagrid said, glancing again in the general direction of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Erm..."

With a sharp glare at the gigantic man, Umbridge began to raid the hut. She bent and peered under the bed, making Allen and Lavi yelp pull their legs up hastily. She opened Hagrid's cupboards and passed dangerously close to where Harry and his friends stood. She peered into the large cauldron Hagrid must use for cooking, and, looking at Hagrid once more, said, "What has happend to you? How did you sustain those injuries?"

"Oh, I...had a bit of an accident," Hagrid answered lamely.

"What sort of accident?"

"I-I tripped."

"You tripped."

Lavi stifled a snort, and Allen glared at him.

"Yeah, tha's right. Over...over a friend's broomstick. I don' fly, meself. Well, look at the size o' me, I don' reckon there's a broomstick tha'd hold me. Friend o' mine breeds Abraxan horses, I dunno if you've ever seem 'em, big beasts, winged, ye know, I've had a bit of a ride on one o' them an' it was-"

"Where have you been?" Umbridge interripted, clearly in no mood to listen to Hagrid's potentially interesting rambling.

"Where've I...?"

"Been, yes," Umbridge nodded. "Term started more than two months ago. Anotehr teacher has had to cover your classes. None of your colleagues has been able to give me any information as to your whereabouts. You left no address. Where have you been?"

Hagrid didn't answer for a moment, apparently working his mind furiously, how to get out of this predicament...

"I-I've been away for me health," he said at last.

"For your health," Umbridge repeated, looking skeptically at his bruised, swollen face, the dragon steak he now held limply in his heand. "I see."

"Yeah," Hagrid nodded, "bit o'-o' fresh air, ye know-"

"Yes, as gamekeeper fresh air must be so difficult to come by," Umbridge agreed sweetly, and what was not black or purple of Hagrid's face flushed.

"Well- change o' scene, ye know-"

"Mountain scenery?" Umbridge asked quickly.

"Oh shoot," Lavi whispered, hardly audible, but Allen just barely shook his head and smiled.

"Mountains?" Hagrid repeated. "Nope, South of Francer fer me. Bit o' sun an'...an' sea."

"Really? You don't have much of a tan."

"Yeah...well...sensitive skin."

Umbridge was looking at him coldly. Then, she hoisted her handbag a little higher on her arm and said, "I shall, of course, be informing the Minister of your late return."

"Righ'."

"You ought to know too that as the High Inquisitor it is my unfortunate but necessary duty to inspect my fellow teachers. So I daresay we shall meet again soon enough."

"You're inspectin' us?" Hagrid asked as he followed Umbridge to the door.

"Oh yes," Umbridge said softly, smiling at him again. "The Ministry is determined to weed out unsatisfactory teachers, Hagrid. Good night." Her eyes turned to the Exorcists and narrowed. They glared back. "You be careful too, boys. You don't know what's lurking around at night...oh, but it isn't anything as bizarre as You-Know-Who coming back to life. Honestly, those children..."

"What if he _is _back?" Lavi asked, loudly, but Umbridge merely slammed the hut's door behind her without answering. "Stupid frog woman," Lavi muttered.

Hagrid stumped across the room towards them and peered through the curtains, sighed a breath of relief. "She's goin' back ter the castle," he said. "Blimey...inspectin' people, is she?"

"Yeah," Harry said as he, Ron, and Hermione reappeared from under the cloak. "Trelawney's on probation already..."

"Um...what sort of thing are you planning to do with us in class, Hagrid?" Hermione asked, sounding nervous. Niether Allen or Lavi understood why.

"Oh, don' you worry abou' that, I've got a great load o' lessons planned," Hagrid said, cheering up immediately and splashing the dragon steak over his eye again. "I've bin keepin' a couple o' creatures saved fer yer O.W.L. yead, you wait, they're somethin' really special."

"Erm...special in what way?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not sayin'," Hagrid answered. "I don't want ter spoil the surprise."

"Look, Hagrid," Hermione began, and she, Ron, and Harry spent the next several minutes trying to convince their large friend to follow Grubby-Plank's lesosn plans, but it was to no avail. Hagrid rushed them out of the house, saying it was late and that they should go back to their dormitories, warning them not to leave their footprints behind.

"I dunno if you got through to him," Ron told Hermione as they walked under the Invisibility Cloak back to the castle. They were walking ahead of Allen and Lavi who, being the ones Umbridge had seen in the castle, did not have to worry about wiping away their footprints. If needed be, their footprints would cover up any of the ones Hermione had missed.

"Then I'll go back again tomorrow," Hermione's voice replied. "I'll plan his lessons for himif I have to. I don't care if she throws out Trelawney, but she's not taking Hagrid!"

"We can stay with him during lessons next week," Allen offered. "I haven't seen Hagrid teach, and Komui told Lavi and me the other day that he can excuse us from paperwork for a while."

Lavi nodded his agreement. "Hagrid's a member of the Order of the Phoenix, right? Then we won't have to worry about contact with the wrong crowd, and we could serve as messengers to both of our bosses, ne?"

"That wasn't exactly my motive, Lavi," Allen said, "but you're right, I guess. I just wanted to make sure Professor Umbridge doesn't get Hagrid fired."

"Allen, you're too nice."

"It's not a matter of being nice or not!" Allen argued. "But Hermione, don't take everything on your shouders. We'll watch over Hagrid."

"Hypocrite," Lavi said under his breath. "Follow your own advice, yeesh."

Sunday morning greeted them with pure white snow. Allen and Lavi accompanied Hermione to Hagrid's hut and came back around noon, all of them shivering slightly and their cheeks flushed from being exposed to the cold. While Hermione seemed crestfallen and admitted that she was only able to try, Allen and Lavi seemed a bit encouraged. They disappeared again later, and it was only on Tuesday, that Harry, Ron, and Hermione saw then again.

"We're working in here today!" Hagrid called happily to his Care of Magical Creatures class. "Bit more sheltered! Anyway, they prefer the dark..."

"What prefers the dark?" Malfoy asked his posse quickly. "What did he say prefers the dark- did you hear?"

"Ready?" Hagrid called to them again once they reached the edge of the Dark Forest. The dead cow body he held wasn't easy to ignore, and Hary felt more and more apprehension builidng in his stomach as they gathered around Hagrid, who was gesturing towards the Dark Forest.

"Right, well, I've bin savin' a trip inter the forest fer yer fith year. Thought we'd go an' see these creatures in their natural habitat. Now, what we're studyin' today is pretty rare, I reckon I'm probably the on'y person in Britian who's managed ter train 'em-"

"And you're sure they're trained, are you?" Malfoy asked loudly. "Only it wouldn't be the first time you'd brought wild stuff to class, would it?"

"'Course they're trained," Hagrid said, scowling and hoisting the dead cow highter on his shoulder.

"So what happened to your face then?"

"Mind yer own business! Now if ye've finished askin' stupid questions, follow me!"

He turned and marched straight towards the forest, and the class followed reluctantly. They walked for about ten minutes until they reached a place where it seemed as if the trees were knitted together. It was as dark as twilight here, and even the snow didn't fall through the thick canopy of leaves. There was a grunting noise, and Harry saw, through the darkness, the shadows of Allen and Lavi as they took the cow's corpse from Hagrid and lugged it over to the center of the area.

"Gather roun', gather roun'," Hagrid said with encouragement. "Now, they'll be attracted by the smell o' the meat but I'm goin' ter give 'em a call anyway, 'cause they'll like ter know it's me..."

Hagrid turned around to face the forest, shook his shaggy head, and gave a strange, shrieking cry that echoed through the dark trees. The Exorcists backed away from the cow and disappeared into the trees too, as if to follow Hagrid's shout that sounded erily like the cry of a mondtrous bird. A minutes passed where the class stood, looking nervously around themselves for a first glimpse of what exactly hagrid was calling towards them. When the man shook his head again and expanded his enormous chest once again, Harry nudged Ron and pointed to the black space between two twisted yew trees.

A pair of blank, white eyes shone through the dark, growing larger and larger before the dragonish face, neck and then skeletal body of a black winged horse appeared through the tangle of trees. It was followed by Allen, who was watching it with both high instrest and slight unease. The horse surveyed the class for a few seconds, its black tail swishing back and forth, and then it bend its neck to start eating at the cow.

Harry remembered seeing the horse pulling the carriages at the beginning of the term, how nobody else, expect for Luna Lovegood, had been able to see it. He had wondered back then if he erally was going insane, but he now knew that this was the proof against it. Hagrid knew about them too. He glanced at Ron hopefully, but the boy was glancing back and forth between Allen and where the horse had emerged from.

"Why doesn't Hagrid call again?" Ron asked him. "And what is Allen looking at? Where's Lavi?"

Looking around, Harry noticed that most of his classmates were still glancing around or staring at Hagrid in wonder and apprehension. There were only two other people who could see the horses: a scrawny Slytherin behind Goyle who looked revolted at the sight, and Neville, whose eyes were following the swishing progress of the horse's long tail.

"Oh, an' here comes another one!" Hagrid said suddenly as Lavi emerged from the darkness with another horse and joined Allen's side. Both boys exchanged glances with each other and grimaced, as if they knew the secret behind who saw the horses and who didn't- and weren't exactly pleased by it. Hagrid didn't seem to notice and said, "Now...put yer hands up, who can see 'em?

"Yeah...yeah, I knew you'd be able ter, Harry. An' you too, Neville, eh? An'-"

"Excuse me," Malfoy sneered, "but what exactly are we supposed to be seeing?"

"It's good that a majority of the class _can't _see them," Harry heard Lavi say as Hagrid pointed to the cow carcass for an answer. The class watched it for a few seconds, then several people gasped loudly, and Pravati Patil screamed. Harry didn't blame them: Bits of flesh and cow meat peeling themselves off bone and disappearing into thin air must look very odd indeed.

"What's doing it?" Parvati demanded in a horrified voice, almost hiding behind the nearest tree. "What's eating it?"

"Thestrals," Hagrid answered. "Hogwarts has got a whole herd of 'em in here. Now, who knows-?"

"But they're really, really unlucky!" Parvati cut in, her eyes wide with alarm. "They're supposed to bring all sorts of horrible misfortune on people who see them. Professor Trelawney told me once-"

"No, no, no," Hagrid chuckled, "tha's jus' superstition, that is, they aren' unlucky, they're dead clever an' useful! 'Course, this lot don' get a lot o' work, it's mainly jus' pullin' the school carriages unless Dumbledore's takin' a long journey an' don' want ter Apparate- an' here's another couple, look-"

Two more thestrals came silently out of the trees, one of them passing very close to Parvati, who shivered and said, "I think I felt something, I think it's near me!"

"Don't worry, it won't hurt you," Allen said soothingly, walking over to the thestral and patting its scaly head. "Come here, now, come on...Food's this way."

Hagrid nodded approvingly at Allen and said, "Righ', now, who can tell me why some o' you can see them an' some can't?"

Hermione's hand shot into the air, as per usual. Hagrid beamed at her and said, "Gon on then."

"The only people who can see thestrals," Hermione said promtply, "are people who have seen death."

"Tha's exactly right," Hagrid nodded, "ten points ter Gryffindor. Now, thestrals-"

"_Hem hem."_

Harry whipped around and saw Umbridge standing a few feet away from him, right beside Lavi, who immediately scurried away and pretended to join Allen in watching the thestrals, although the latter's eyes were glued onto the High Inquisitor, reflecting deep dislike. Hagrid, meanwhile, was staring confusedly at one thestral, clearly under the impression that it had made the noise. Of course, it was only because he had never heard Umbridge's fake cough before.

"_Hem hem."_

_"_Oh hello!" Hagrid said cheerfully, finally having located teh source of the noise.

"You received the note I sent to your cabin this morning?" Umbridge asked. Her voice just as loud and slow as it was on Saturday night. "Telling you that I would ve inspecting your lesson?"

"Oh yeah," Hagrid said cheerfully. "Glad ye found the place all righ'! Well, as you can see- or, I dunno- can you? We're doin' thestrals today-"

"I'm sorry?" Umbrige said loudly, cupping a hand around her ear and frowning. "What did you say?"

"Er," Hagrid said, looking confused. "_Thestrals!_ Big-er-winged horses, ye know! He flapped his gigantic arms hopefully, and Harry saw Lavi slap his forehead. Allen, standing beside him, was staring at Umbridge in horror.

Umbridge raised her eyevrows at him and wrote on her clipboard, muttering, "'_has...to...retort...to...crude...sign...language...'"_

"Well...anyway..." Hagrid said, flushing. "Erm...what was I sayin'?"

"_'Appears...to...have...poor...short...term...memory...'"_ Umbridge muttered, yet again writing her notes.

Harry thought he heard Allen hiss, "No, Lavi! You _can't _use 'Hiban' to burn Umbridge to a crisp-OW. Lavi, you poked me with the tip! It's bleeding!"

"Oh yeah," Hagrid said, looking at Umbridge with obvious discomfort. "Yeah, I was gonna tell ye how we got a herd. Yeah, so, we started off with a male an' five females. This one," he said, patting the first thestral, which was now staring hungrily at Allen's hurt finger, "name o' Tenebrus, he's my special favorite, firs' one born here in the forest-"

"Are you aware," Umbridge interrupted loudly and clearly, "that the Ministry of Magic has classified thestrals as 'dangerous'?"

"Thestrals aren' dangerous!" All righ', they might take a bite outta you if ye really annoy them-"

"'_Shows...signs...of...pleasure...at...idea...of...violence...'" _Umbridge muttered again.

"No-come on!" Hagrid said hastily, looking a little anxious now. "I mean, a dog'll bit if ye bait it, won' it- but thestrals have jus' got a bad reputation because o' the death thing- people used ter think they were bad omens, didn' they? Jus' didn' understand, did they?"

Umbridge didn't acknowledge that he'd spoken. She finished writing her last note, looked up at him with her wide smile, and said, "Please continue teaching as usual. I am going to walk"- she pretended to walk-"among the students"- she pointed at the crowd around her-"and ask them questions." She pointed at her own mouth.

"You hag, you evil hag!" Hermione whispered angrily as Umbridge approached Pansy Parkinson, a Slytherin and one of Malfoy's usual crowd. "I know what you're doing, you awful, twisted, vicious-"

"Old hag," Lavi and Allen said from besides the threstals.

* * *

Hello readers, 

This is something that came up in one of the reviews.

**A:** when all you people right these HP xovers w/ w.e. the anime is, do you guys actually have the book right there and type it up and add some changes in there?

**Q: **Well, I don't know about the other authors, but that's what I do. The book is always sitting by my computer. It drove my brother mad when I started to hog the book because I refused to let him read it.


	29. Mistletoe

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcist 

Twenty-Nine: Mistletoe **

* * *

**

**Disclaimers**: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

"How're you going to get back to the Burrow?" Harry asked Ron one day. It was December. Snow fell to the ground in silent harmony, and the winter holidays were just around the corner. Harry sent Ron a dark look, jealous that Ron was going to be able to see his family on such special occasions like Christmas. 

"But you're coming too!" Ron said, surprised. "Didn't I say? Mym wrote and told me to invite you weeks ago!"

"Really?" Harry asked. His spirits soared at the news. Beside them, Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Have you all seen Lavi lately?" Lee Jordan asked, appearing out of thin air. "He hasn't been coming to D.A. meetings, and the last time we saw him was that one week in November at Hagrid's. Fred, George, and I've tried asking Kanda and Allen, but neither of them have told us anything!"

"How are we supposed to know?" Ron asked back. "Allen and Lenalee haven't been around much either, the only places we see them are at the D.A meetings, and even that's every other time."

That was true, Harry thought. Ever since the week since they'd helped out Hagrid (to no avail), Allen and Lavi had mysteriously began to disappear. Allen showed himself several times in the past few weeks, but Lavi had completely gone, as if he was never there. Lenalee, too, had disappeared from her usual place with Ginny. Most of the other Exorcists had stopped coming to the D.A. meetings as well.

"I'm really worried," Hermione said as Lee Jordan ran off. "I wonder what happened to them."

"Nothing big," Ron assured her. "I mean, they're supposed to have the 'crystals of God' or whatever, right? I don't think old hags like Umbridge will be able to take them out."

"Do you honestly, really, believe that they have the power of God with them?" Hermione asked softly. "I mean, how can someone be _born _with something as holy as a crystal of God? I can't believe them completely, especially since they suddenly left..They might have, you know, double-crossed-"

"Get over it, Hermione," Harry said. "This isn't about believing what they say about God. This is more or less about trusting them to be our friends."

"Yes, but..."

Harry didn't remember what Hermione said after that. He was still a bit irritated with her for not believing the Exorcists, but they _had_ disappeared suddenly...

"Hi," Allen greeted Harry in the Room of Requirement on the day of the last meeting before the holidays.

"Allen! Where have you been?" Harry demanded, just barely noticing the Christmas decorations that hung everywhere.

"...Missions," Allen replied shortly and looked around. "Nice," he said.

Harry grumbled, taking notice of the baubles hanging form the ceiling. "I'd bet it's Dobby's doing. Allen, help me get them down..."

The boys had only managed to get the last bauble down when the door creaked open and Luna Lovegood walked in gazing around the room dreamily as always. "Hello," she greeted vaguely. 'These are nice, did you put them up?"

"No," Harry said, "it was Dobby the house elf.

"Mistletoe."

"Whut? Oh, gosh!" Harry gasped, jumping out from under it as Allen chuckled behind them.

"Good thinking," Luna said seriously. "It's often infested with Nargles."

"What are-?" Allen began, but was cut off when Angelina, Alicia, and Katie stumbled in, all of them breathless and looking chilled to the bone. Allen abandoned his question and immeditely walked over to them. He conjured up several blankets and handed them to the girls.

"Thanks," Angelina said distractedly, shedding her cloak and throwing it in a corner. "Well," she said, turning to Harry, "we've replaced you."

"Replaced me?" Harry repeated.

"You and Fred and George. We've another Seeker!"

"Who?"

"Ginny Weasley," Katie answered. Harry gaped at her.

"Yeah, I know," Angelina said. "But she's pretty good, actually. Nothing on you, of course," she added, throwing Harry a dirty look, "but as we can't have you..."

Allen looked troubled. "Dont' blame Harry," he said hastily. "It's not his fault Malfoy's a git."

"And about the Beaters?" Harry asked, his voice oddly thick.

"Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper," Alicia answered gloomily. "Niether of them are brilliant, but compared with the rest of the idiots who turned up..."

Harry was saved from the gloomy atmosphere when Ron, Hermione, and Neville walked in five minutes later, looking disgruntled and bundled in coats. The room slowly started to fill, and Harry was delighted to see that Lenalee, Krory, and Miranda joined them this time as well. The only people missing were Lavi and Kanda. Shaking the thought out of his mind, Harry looked around at the people sitting around him and said, "Okay. I thought this evening we should just go over the things we've done so far, because it's the last meeting before the holidays and there's no point starting anything new right now before a three week break-"

"We're not doing anything new?" Zacharias Smith drawled in a rather loud whisper. "If I'd known that, I wouldn't have come..."

"We're all really sorry Harry didn't tell you, then," Fred Weasley said loudly, causing a wave of sniggering to pass through the crowd. Harry spotted Cho Chang laughing and felt his stomach flip over.

'We can practice in pairs," he called. "We'll start with the Impediment Jinx, just for ten minutes, then we can get out the cushions and try Stunning again."

Harry was getting used by now to the people obeying his instructions. At first it had seemed so strange...Allen and Lenalee were off in a corner near Cho and her friend, and Harry saw that the two of them might even be better than him at casting spells: the accuracy of their spells was amazing. Harry was paired up with Neville, and after freezing and unfreezing three times in a row, he had the boy join Ron and Hermione again and began to walk around the room. Cho smiled at him when he passed, and it was Lenalee's knowing look that made him resist walking past several more times.

After ten minutes, Harry had them lay out the cushions over the floor, and since there wasn't enough space for all of them to practice at once, half the group practiced while the other hald observed. Harry himself was surprised by everyone's progress, and he was almost disappointed when he had to call a stop to the practicing.

"You're getting really good," he said, beaming at everyone. "When we get back from the holidays we can start doing some of the big stuff- maybe even Patronuses."

"Really?" several people gasped, and there was a buzz of excited murmurs. Then, in the usual groups of twos and threes, the D.A. memebers dispersed. Ron and Hermione were gone by the time Harry noticed, and the Exorcists left as well, bidding Harry a Merry Christmas, and he only vaguely heard Lenalee gasp something about Allen and birthdays.

He glanced back into the room. At Cho, who was telling her friend Marietta to go on before her. The girl sent Harry a dirty glare before she marched off down the corridor, but Harry was pretending hard to be straightening the cushion stack while waiting for Cho to talk to him. Instead, however, he heard a loud sniff. Surprised, he turned around and saw Cho, standing there, tears pouring down her face.

"Wha-?"

He had no idea what he was supposed to do. Cho was simply standing before him, in the middle of the room, crying silently. Without warning, too.

"What's up?" he asked timidly, walking up to her. He'd never dealt with a tearful girl before.

Cho shook her head and wiped her eyes roughly on her sleeve. "I'm- I'm sorry," she said thickly. "I suppose...it's just...learning all this stuff...It just makes me...wonder whether...if _he'd _known it all...he'd still be alive..."

Harry's heart, which had been leapiing with excitement in his Adam's apple, sank down to his navel in that moment. He should've expected it, he should've known. Cho wanted to talk about Cedric Diggory, the boy who was killed by Voldemort last summer. Right in front of his eyes.

Something hot and nasty boiled in him. What was it? Jealousy that Cedric still held Cho's heart even after death? Was it anger at Cedric for dying and leaving Cho all alone to cry? Or was it a more intense hatred towards Voldemort for killing Cedric?

"He did know this stuff," Harry told her, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice. "He was really good at it, or he could never have got to the middle of that maze. But if Voldemort really wants to kill you, you don't stand a chance."

"_You _survived when you were just a baby," Cho said softly.

"Yeah, well," Harry said, wanting to leave. "I dunno why, nor does anyone else, so it's nothing to be proud of." Why did she have to bring up that day now? He didn't want to talk about death, he didn't want to talk about Cedric. Why couldn't she simply have wished him a Merry Christmas and left it at that?

"Oh don't go!" Cho gasped when he made as if to go for the door. "I'm really sorry to get all upset likethis...I didn't mean to..."

She hiccuped, and Harry stayed, watching her. Even when her eyes were red and puffy, she was still extremely pretty, but that didn't lighten his mood one bit. He'd always thought Christmas was a time for someone to be happy. But maybe memories of Christmas spent with Cedric were making her teary- _why Cedric?_ He honestly didn't want to stay and talk about Cedric, but he couldn't leave. Would someone have forgotten something in the room? Maybe someone would walk in, and Cho would be forced to stop talking about the dead boy...

"I know it must be terrible for you," Cho said, wiping her eyes again. "Me mentioning Cedric, when you saw him die...I suppose you just want to forget about it..."

It was true of course. He didn't want to remember the death of someone forever, but saying it would sound heartless.

"You're a r-really good teacher, you know," Cho said, smiling a watery smile. "I've never been able to Stun anything before."

"Thanks," Harry said awkwardly. Still watching her as she sniffed.

Their eyes met, and they looked at each other for a moment. Maybe it was five minutes. An hour, maybe. But this moment felt long. Harry felt half of him wanting to bolt form the room, to run away, but the other half had glued his feet to the floor, and he could only stare into Cho's dark eyes.

"Mistletoe," she whispered, pointing to the white berries over his head.

"Yeah," Harry said, hoping his dry mouth would allow him to speak for another minute. "It's probably full of nargles, though."

"What are nargles?"

He hadn't asked Luna, but even if he had, it probably was one of her strange ideas. "No idea," he answered. "You'd have to ask Loony. Luna, I mean." He tongue was twisting, his mind was numb as if he'd been Stunned. Cho had moved closer to him.

She made a strange noise that was somewhere halfway between a sob and a laugh. She was so close to him now, he could count every freckle on her nose. "I really like you, Harry," she said, and Harry felt his thoughts process shut down. His arms, legs, and brain seemed to go stiff and limp, paralyzed by the tingling feeling running through his brains, into ever cell.

Too close. Cho was too close to him. He could see every tear clinging to her long eyelashes...if only he could wipe them away...

He was glad nobody had forgotten anything in the room.

* * *

Hello readers, 

This was a question among the reviews:

**Q: **How did they learn about/get to the future?

**A: **It's, um...a secret. It'll come up at the end of the story, and honestly, it isn't really all that dramatic.


	30. Snake Bite

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcist 

Thirty: Snake Bite **

* * *

**

**Disclaimers**: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

_"_How could a kiss be _wet?" _Allen and Lenalee demanded when Harry'd told them about it. He had walked numbly into the common room thirty minutes later, and he could still feel Cho's lips against his. Hermione must have been expecting it, because she gave him a knowing look, but Ron looked disgusted. Lavi had not appeared at all today and was nowhere in sight. 

"Oh," he said, sounding slightly put off. "Are you that bad at kissing?"

"Dunno," Harry shrugged, then frowned. "Maybe I am."

"Of course you're not," Hermione said, and Allen glanced at the roll of parchment she was writing on. It was a letter, but he didn't know anyone who could write a letter that long...

"How do you know?" Ron demanded, glancing quickly from her to Harry in suspicion.

"Because Cho spends half her time crying these days," Hermione said absently. "She does it at mealtimes, in the loos, all over the place."

"You'd think a bit of kissing would cheer her up," Ron said with a grin.

"Ron," Hermione sighed, "you are the most insensitive wart I have ever had the misfortune to meet."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron said in an offended way. "What sort of person cried while someone's kissing them?"

"If she calls you a wart you are a wart," Lenalee said coldly, glaring at him darkly, "and I'm in agreement with her." Allen shivered behind her and didn't say anything.

"But yeah," Harry said, "who does?"

Hermione looked at both of her friends with a look of what might have been pitying. She said,"Don't you understand how Cho's feeling at the moment?"

"No," Harry and Ron said together.

Hermione sighed and laid aside her letter.

"Well, obviously, she's feeling very sad because of Cedric dying," she began. "Then I expect she's feeling confused because she liked Cedric and now she likes Harry, and she can't work out who she likes best. Then she'll be feeling guilty, thinking it's an insult to Cedric's memory to be kissing Harry at all, and she'll be worrying about what everyone else might say about her if she starts going out with Harry. And she probably can't work out what her feelings toward Harry are anyway because he was the one who was with Cedric when Cedric died, so that's all very mixed up and painful. Oh, and she's afraid she's going to be thrown off the Ravenclaw Quidditch team because she's been flying so badly."

Allen couldn't even begin to explain the stunned silence that followed Hermione's explanation. He could barely resist to start clapping at her narrative.

Ron said, "One person can't feel all that at once, they'd explode."

"Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have," Hermione said and returned to her letter, picking up her quill again.

"She was the one who started it," Harry said. "I wouldn't've- she just sort of came at me- and the next thing she's crying all over me- I didn't know what to do-"

"Don't blame you, mate," Ron said.

"You just ahd to be nice to her," Allen said.

"You were, weren't you?" Hermione and Lenalee asked anxiously.

"Well," Harry muttered, his ears turning red, "I sort of- patted her on the back."

Hermione seemed to be having an internal battle on whether or not to roll her eyes. "

"Well, I suppose it could have been worse," she said. "Are you going to see her again?"

"I'll have to, won't I?" Harry said. "We've got D.A. meetings, ahven't we?"

"You know what she means," Lenalee said impatiently. Harry said nothing.

"Oh well," Hermione said. "You'll have plenty of opportunities to ask her..."

"What if he doesn't want to ask her?" Ron asked, looking away from Harry.

"Don't be silly," Hermione answered, "Harry's liked her for ages, haven't you?" Harry, once again, said nothing.

"Who're you writing the novel to anyway?" Allen and Ron asked, the latter trying to read the letter upside down. It was so long that the parchment had rolled onto the floor. Hermione snatched it up out of sight.

"Viktor," she said.

_"Krum?"_

"How many other Viktors do we know?"

Ron fell silent as well, looking disgruntled. They all sat quietly for twenty minutes, Ron finishing his Transfiguration homework with many snorts and grunts of impatience and crossings-out, Hermione scribbling steadily to the end of the parchment and sealing it carefully, Harry staring into the fire, the Exorcists flipping through their books. The fire died, and they were soon the last ones in the common room.

"Well, 'night," Hermione yawned and left for the girls' dormitories. Ron and Harry took their example and left for the boys' dormitories while Allen and Lenalee stayed behind. Lenalee waited until the boys' voices faded away and snapped her fingers. Her communication golem came fluttering out of a corner, followed by Timcampy, and the two Exorcists stood up.

"He's waiting," Allen said. Lenalee nodded, and they left the common room together.

"Good evening," Dumbledore greeted them in the headmaster's office. Just like every time they saw him, he was sitting behind his desk with Komui. Kanda, Krory, and Miranda had already gone, they guessed. "How are you?"

"Have you any reports from Lavi?" Lenalee asked at once, sitting down beside her brother. Allen followed suit.

"Earlier this afternoon. He is with Arthur Weasley right now-"

"Ron's father?" Allen said, then flushed. "Um...sorry."

"It is quite alright. Yes, he is the Weasleys' father. They are both fine, and Lavi should be back by daybreak tomorrow."

"So we wait?"

"Yes, we wait."

They didn't have to wait until dawn, although. Not many hours passed during which Dumbledore and the portraits along the wall were chatting when there was a sharp rap against the oak doors, and the portraits immediately began to feign sleep. The doors to the office opened, and when Allen and Lenalee twisted around in their seats, they saw McGonagall walk in followed by a pale Harry and an anxious looking Ron.

"Oh, it's you, Professor McGonagall," Dumbledore said pleasantly, "and..._ah."_

"What are you doing here?" Allen asked the boys, but neither of them answered. Lenalee and he exchanged glances with each other, stood up, and stood behind Komui as McGonagall approached the headmaster.

"Professor Dumbledore, Potter has had a...well, a nightmare," McGonagall said. "He says..."

"It wasn't a nightmare," Harry corrected.

McGonagall frowned at him. "Very well, then, Potter, you tell the headmaster about it."

"I...well, I _was _asleep..." Harry said, casting Dumbledore a look that was not returned. "But it wasn't an ordinary dream...it was real...I saw it happen..." He took a deep breath and said, "Ron's dad- Mr. Weasley- has been attacked by a giant snake."

"_WHAT?" _Allen and Lenalee exclaimed, and Komui's eyes widened behind his glasses. "How could he be- he's with- Lavi's with him!"

"Not necessarily," Komui muttered, and the Exorcists rounded on him. "They are in the same area, but even you guys know that partners may split up to search a place more efficiently."

"How did you see this?" Dumbledore asked Harry quietly, examining his long, interlocked fingers.

"Well...I don't know," Harry said, sounding rather angry. "Inside my head, I suppose-"

"You misunderstand me," Dumbledore said. "I mean...can you remember- er- where you were positioned as you watched this attack happen? Were you perhaps standing beside the victim, or else looking down on the scene from above?"

Harry stared at Dumbledore for a moment, as if in disbelief...

"I was the snake," he said at last. "I saw it all from the snake's point of view..."

"Is Arthur seriously injured?" Dumbledore asked.

"_Yes."_

The headmaster stood up abruptly and said to a couple of portraits, "Everard? And you too, Dilys!" The wizard and witch opened their eyes immediately. "You were listening?"

"Naturally."

"The man has red hair and glasses. A young patch-eyed boy, another red haired one, should be with him. Everard, you will need to raise the alarm, make sure he is found by the right people-"

Both nodded and disappeared out of their frames.

"Mr. Walker, Miss Lee, I must request you stand beside Fawkes- hold onto his legs, I should add..." Dumbledore said. As the two Exorcists nodded and did as they were told, he continued, "Everard and Dilys were two of Hogwarts's most celebrated heads. Their renown is such that both have portraits ahnging in other important Wizarding institutions. As they are free to move between their own portraits they can tell us what may be happening elsewhere..."

"But Mr. Weasley could be anywhere!" Harry said.

"Please sit down, all three of you," Dumbldore said as if Harry had never spoken. "Everard and Dilys may not be back for several minutes...Professor McGonagall, if you could draw up extra chairs..."

Dumbledore approached Allen and Lenalee and the slumbering phoenix that they held lightly onto. He stroked the bird's head, and Fawkes awoke immediately.

"Both of you," Dumbledore whispered to them, "will be sent to the Burrow- that is the Weasley's home- and will accompany Molly Weasley wherever she goes. Fawkes will take you."

"Yes, sir."

"We will need," the headmaster said to Fawkes, "a warning. Hold on tight," he added.

Allen and Lenalee barely had a moment to react and grip the phoenix's legs tighter before a flash of fire not unlike Lavi's Hiban surrounded them, and they flet something tug them off the floor.

Then everything went dark, and Allen felt the floor tug away from them. And a flying, thrilling sensation and-

"OUCH!"

-they crashed down rather unceremoniously onto a wooden floor, but before they could nurse their offended knees, a red haired woman pulled them both to their feet and grabbed Allen's shoulders, started shaking him.

"Did Dumbledore send you? What happened- Arthur- mortal peril?- _what happened to my husband?_"

"Urk- please, don't shake," Allen choked out, and Ron's mother immediately let go.

"I-I'm sorry, but Arthur," she stuttered and started to sob. Alarmed, Allen put an arm around her trembling shoulders.

"We were sent by Professor Dumbledore to accompany you," Lenalee told her. "We are the Exorcists. Mrs. Weasley, I'm sure you'll soon be informed about your husband. He should be alright- one of our comrades is with him-"

"H-have you two ever Apparated?" Mrs. Weasley sniffed. "If we're going to St. Mungo's...I want to get there as soon as possible- and Apparition is the fastest-"

"We haven't, ma'am," Allen answered.

"Then we'll have to- to use Side-Along Apparition...I'll take care of preparations, don't worry...Thank you for coming," Mrs. Weasley said.

"There's nothing to thank us for," Allen said. "Let's go, Mrs. Weasley, I think that is the notice from the hospital."

"Alright," she nodded, and wiping her eyes, she scurried away to a door. Left behind in what he now realized was a kitchen, Allen turned to Lenalee.

"They will be fine, right?" Lenalee asked him.

"Bookman's the best doctor that I know," Allen replied, "and as his apprentice, I'm sure Lavi would have something up his sleeve..."

"They carried him to St. Mungo's now," Mrs. Weasley said, hurrying back to them. Grabbing a coat, she hastily put it on and grabbed both their arms. Here eyes were filled with tears again. "Let's hurry."

"How-?" Allen began to ask, but Mrs. Weasley tightened her hold around them and spun on the spot. Allen felt a sudden feeling of being crushed, as if all of the atmosphere around him had been taken away. He could barely breathe or move, and he felt something pressing against him. Something flashed in front of his eyes, but by the time he even started to try focusing on any of them, the three of them had arrived wherever they were headed for.

It was a street filled with people.

"This way," Mrs. Weasley said and led them to a store that had obviously never been used before. Two dolls dressed in clothes very unlike any of the passersby on the street stood in the display window, and Mrs. Weasley whispered to them. Then, she nodded and took their hands. She began to walk toward the window, and Allen wondered for a moment if they might walk straight into the grass, but instead, they went right through, and he was suddenly staring out at a vast crowd of people. Not all of them looked normal, either.

"This is St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries," Mrs. Weasley said. "Let's get in line...I have to ask how Arthur's doing..."

"Hey! Allen!" a voice called. The boy, hearing his name, looked around, telling Lenalee to follow the distraught woman to the long line that he'd at first thought was a crowd, and Allen waited for whoever called him to approach him, althought he thought he knew who it would be.

And just as he thought, the red haired head of Lavi jogged up to him through the sea of people, waving, his coat and face slightly bloodstained, a worried look on his face.

"Lavi," Allen said, grabbing the Bookman and pulling him to catch up with Lenalee and Mrs. Weasley. "How's Mr. Weasley?"

"Healers- those are the doctors here- are taking care of him. I did as much as I could, stopped the bleeding, but I'm sure it was poisoned- the fangs- how did you guys know about this so soon?"

"I'll explain later," Allen answered. "But is he alright?"

"He's hanging on."

"You mean he's-?"

"It's serious," Lavi said gravely.

* * *

**Q: **Whats Allen gonna get for his birthday anyways? His birthday is on Christmas day right? xD 

**A: **Well, I really don't know where Allen's going to be on Christmas day. He's more likely to be at Grimmauld Place rather than off on a mission, so he'll get a gift, but I really have no clue what it would be. It's most likely going to be in the next chapter, so I'm willing to take suggestions in the reviews.

Return to Top 


	31. A Day of Celebration

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcist

Thirty-One: A Day of Celebration **

* * *

**

**Disclaimers**: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

"You should go see them," Allen and Lenalee told Mrs. Weasley. Mr. Weasley, half asleep, bandaged, and slightly greenish in complexion, nodded his head in agreement. The Weasleys' son and a member of the Order of the Phoenix, Bill, smiled assuringly at his mother, who was also very pale and shaking slightly from shock. Allen didn't blame her, seeing her husband in his state must have been a hard blow for her. 

"They'll be worried sick," Lavi added, grimacing at the bandaged wound Mr. Weasley wore around his torso. "Sorry I didn't see the attack-"

"It's...fine," Mr. Weasley grunted.

"You should go reassure your children, Mrs. Weasley," Lenalee urged. "We will stay with Mr. Weasley."

"I'll be fine, Molly," Mr. Weasley slurred. "Go tell...the kids."

Mrs. Weasley still looked reluctant to leave her husband's side, but she sighed and said, "Alright. I'll go. I promised them, too."

"You should get some rest as well," Allen told her. "You must be exhausted with worry."

"Oh, you're very sweet," Mrs. Weasley smiled weakly. "Thank you for being here, and- Lavi, was it?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you, if you weren't there, Arthur might have bled to death..."

"Hey, gee, we're comrades, right?" Lavi said, grinning. "We'll be here all night. If something happens, you'll be the first to know."

"Thanks again, I'll be back tomorrow with the children," Mrs. Weasley said and left the ward.

Once she was gone, Lavi let out a deep breath and slumped down in a chair beside Bill. "What a way to spend the holiday, ne?" he asked them all. "How're you feeling, Mr. Weasley?"

"Numb," he replied, and turned to Allen and Lenalee. "The doctors said I'm going to be moved to another ward later-"

"We'll stay," they replied promptly.

"Will you?" Bill asked them gratefully. "I really can't skip out on work- might cause suspicions- so I'd be really thankful if you could stay with my father."

"No problem," Lavi said, waving his hand in dismissal. "So far we're still waiting for news from Komui, too. He should be arriving at headquarters soon, and the others would be coming back from their own missions. I don't think they'll visit you, though."

"Especially not Kanda," Allen said darkly.

Bill raised his eyebrows. "Well, thanks anyway," he said and yawned.

"Get some rest, Bill," Lenalee said. "We'll wake you up in the morning or when anything- _if _anything happens."

Nothing happened during the few hours during which both Weasleys slumbered. Sometime around seven in the morning, when the sun had just risen and was peeking through the windows, Mr. Weasley was moved to another ward on the first floor, and the Exorcists followed after waking up Bill, who, about three hours later, left for work. It was around this time that Lenalee left for the visitors' tearoom on the fifth floor to grab them all some coffee.

Sometime after noon, Mr. Weasley was propped up on several pillows and reading the _Daily Prophet _Lavi had grabbed for them when Allen thought he heard familiar voices outside the ward door.

"We'll wait outside, Molly," a woman's voice said. "Arthur won't want too many visitors at once...It ought to be just the family first." Somebody growled in agreement, and Molly Weasley, opening the door, said as she pushed a black haired boy through it, "Don't be silly, Harry, Arthur wants to thank you.."

"They're here," Lavi smiled, standing up from his seat. Allen and Lenalee followed suit, moving away from the bed as the Weasleys and Harry approached them.

Mr. Weasley looked up from his _Prophet _and, upon seeing his family, beamed brightly. "Hello!" he called, throwing aside the paper (Allen caught it). "Bill just left, Molly, had to get back to work, but he says he'll drop in on you later..."

"How are you, Arthur?" Mrs. Weasley asked, kissing his cheeks. "You're still looking a bit peaky..."

"I feel absolutely fine," Mr. Weasley said cheerfully, hugging Ginny with his non-bandaged arm. "If they could only take the bandages off, I'd be fit to go home."

"Why can't they take them off, Dad?" Fred Weasley asked.

"Well, I start bleeding like mad every time they try," Mr. Weasley said, reaching over for his wand, waving it, and conjuring up chairs beside his bed "It seems there was some rather unusual kind of poison in the snake's fangs that keep wounds open..."

"They're sure they'll find an antidote," Lavi explained, "though, they say they've had much worse cases than his, and until they find that antidote, he has to take Blood-Replenishing Potion every hour. But that bloke over there-"

Mr. Weasley waved his hand, beckoning his guests closer. Lowering his voice, he said, "Bitten by a _werewolf, _poor chap. No cure at all."

"A werewolf?" Mrs. Weasley repearted in an alarmed whisper. "Is he safe in a public ward? Shouldn't he be in a private room?"

"It's two weeks till full moon," Mr. Weasley reminded her softly. "They've been talking to him this morning, the Healers, you know, trying to persuade him he'll be able to lead an almost normal life. I said to him- didn't mention names, of course- but I said I knew a werewolf personally, very nice man, who finds the condition quite easy to manage..."

"What did he say?" George asked curiously.

"Said he'd give me another bite if I didn't shut up," Mr. Weasley answered sadly.

"He's just like Kanda," Allen said with an edge to his voice.

"But you seemed to get along quite well with him-" Lenalee told him.

"That's because he doesn't talk as much as I do," Lavi corrected her. "I almost _did _get bitten by the bloke-"

"And that woman over _there," _Mr. Weasley interrupted, rather loudly, "won't tell the Healers what bit her, which makes us all think it must have been something she was handling illegally. Whatever it was took a large chunk out of her leg, _very _nasty smell when they take off the dressings."

"So, you going to tell us what happened, Dad?" Fred asked, pulling up his chair.

"Well, you already know, don't you?" Lavi asked, glancing in Harry's general direction.

"It's very simple," Mr. Weasley said. "I'd had a very long day, dozed off, got sneaked up on, and bitten. At first I thought it was Lavi here sneaking up to me like he'd been doing for the first six hours, he and that hammer of his, but really-"

"It is in the _Prophet, _you being attacked?" Fred asked.

"No, of course not," Mrs. Weasley chuckled bitterly, "the Ministry wouldn't want everyone to know a dirty great serpent got-"

"Arthur!" Mrs. Weasley and Lavi said hastily.

"-got- er- me."

"So where were you when it happened, Dad?" George asked.

"That's my business."

"It's a place where Allen will get lost in," Lavi teased.

"Huh?" both boys blinked.

"That'll be about everywhere," Lavi said.

"Hey!"

"I was just reading about Willy Widdershin's arrest when you arrived," Mr. Weasley said. "You know Willy turned out to be behind those ergurgitating toilets last summer? One of his jinxes, backfired, the toilet exploded, and they found him lying unconscious in the wreckage covered from head to toe in-"

"When you said you were 'on duty'," Fred cut in in a low voice, "what were you doing?"

"You heard your father," Mrs. Weasley hissed, "we are not discussing this here! Go on about Willy Widdenshins, Arthur-"

"Well, don't ask me how, but he actually got off on the toilet charge," Mr. Weasley said grimly. "I can only suppose gold changed hands-"

"You were guarding it, weren't you?" George pressed quietly. "The weapon? The thing You-Know-Who's after?"

"George, be quiet!" Mrs. Weasley snapped.

"Anyway," he said, "this time Willy's been caught selling biting doorknobs to Muggles, and I odn't think he'll be able to worm his way out of it because according to this article, two Muggles have lost their fingers and are now in St. Mungo's for emergency bone regrowth and memory modification. Just think of it, Muggles in St. Mungo's! I wonder which ward they're in?"

"Didn't you say You-Know-Who's got a snake, Harry?" Fred asked Harry, glancing at his father. "A massive one? You saw it the night he returned, didn't you?"

"That's enough," Mrs. Weasley said, with a glare. "Mad-Eye and Tonks are outside, Arthur, they want to come see you. And you lot can wait outside. You can come and say good bye afterward. Go on..."

"Hey," Lavi said in an oddly low voice, and the Weasleys and Harry turned to look at him. "Quit sticking your head where it don't belong, Fred. War isn't a game like Quidditch. If your parents are insisting on not telling you, you'd better leave it. Naive brats will just get in the way, they can't tell who's on their side and who's not, and we can't trust anything to them."

"Lavi," Lenalee said disapprovingly. "You didn't have to say it like that-"

"He has a point though," Allen said. "Fred, George, chances are that you will eventually find out what happened. For now, let your parents keep their confidential information. Things in the Order, in wars, aren't supposed to be told so carelessly to outside people.

A tense silence fell, and then Mr. Weasley cleared his throat loudly. "Why don't you guys stay with us?" he said to the Exorcists.

"Aye, they're allowed to stay, are they? Still kids," said a grouchy looking Mad-Eye Moody, who was looking at Allen with curiosity as he limped into the ward after the bright haired Nymphadora Tonks. Allen saw the man's strange right eye, and, feeling slightly subconscious, turned his head to hide his left eye.

"It'...okay," he said. "We ought to go, Lavi, Lenalee."

"Where?"

"Just..."

"There should be a way to contact Komui," Lenalee helped out. "We should inform his of the situation."

Comprehension shone in Lavi's eye as the three of them left the ward, but that didn't stop them from overhearing part of the conversation between the adults.

"...they searched the whole area, but they couldn't find the snake anywhere, it just seems to have vanished after it attacked you, Arthur," Tonks said. "But You-Know-Who can't have expected a snake to get in, can he?"

"I reckon he sent it as a lookout," Mad-Eye growled, "'cause he's not had any luck so far, has he? No, I reckon he's trying to get a clearer picture of what he's facing and if Arthut hadn't been there the beast would've had much more tim eto look around. That Exorcist being there was another obstacle for it. So Potter says he saw it all happen?"

"Yes," Mrs. Weasley said uneasily. "You know, Dumbledore seems almost to have been waiting for Harry to see something like this..."

"Yeah, well," Mad-Eye said, "there's something funny about the Potter kid, we all know that."

"Dumbledore seemed worried about Harry when I spoke to him this morning," Mrs. Weasley whispered.

"'Course he's worried," Mad-Eye grunted. "The boy's seeing things from inside You-Know-Who's snake...Obviously, Potter doesn't realize what it means, but if You-Know-Who's possessing him-"

_BAM._

"Allen?" Lavi said worriedly as Allen slammed the door loudly behind him. "What's up?"

"It's...nothing," Allen said, the overheard words echoing like a bell in his ears. He looked up and met the eyes of Harry and the Weasleys, who were all wide eyed and looking terrified. "I guess you all heard that too?"

-------------

Allen still rememberd the conversation he had with Harry on the day Ron had become Gryffindor's new Keeper. The boy had been troubled about why Albus Dumbledore was neglecting him, not meeting his eyes. On the way back to Grimmauld Place, Harry was very quiet, maybe he thought he found the reason why Dumbledore wasn't looking at him anymore-

Maybe he came to the conclusion that Dumbledore feared the Voldemort inside him. Maybe he felt...

"Invaded, comtanimated," Lavi muttered, his gaze on the silent figure of Harry. "I'll bet he feels that way."

"I think he feels like he's that weapon we've been told about," Allen said grimly. "Because he saw Arthur Weasley's attack through the eye of the snake, he probably feels as if he's the weapon that Voldemort is after."

"That makes sense as well," Lavi nodded. "Just like we're God's hands- his weapons- on Earth."

Allen only smiled in return.

"Sixteen..." Lavi suddenly said.

"_Huh?"_

_"_Your age," Lenalee explained with a chuckle. "Your birthday's coming up in a few days, isn't it?"

"Oh, yeah," Allen said, realization dawning on him. "Yes, um, on Christmas day. It's actually the day Mana took me in, and I don't really know my exact age, but..."

"What should we get you?" Lavi asked excitedly, appearently not listening. "Do you want a Christmas present or a birthday present? Aw, I'll just have to ask the twins for money, but I wonder if they have anything...wait, maybe I can beg Komui. I'm sure good ol' Dumbledore's got something up his sleeve, like..._ka-ching!"_

_"_N-no. I mean, I really don't-"

"We'll have to ask Mrs. Weasley to make an extra large feast!" Lavi said to Lenalee, who laughed. "Too bad Kuro-chan and the others are still stuck in school. They'd have been great in the party. But Yu wouldn't come anyway-"

"Guys...!"

But it was to no avail...

Christmas Eve came and went merrily. Hermione arrived a couple days before, confessing that she wasn't really into skiiing anyway (she had at first gone on a skiing trip with her Muggle parents), and she'd successfully dragged Harry out of his dark mood, and by the time they all went to sleep on December 24, there wasn't a gloomy person in the house (unless, of course, Kanda was here, but he never came, despite the fact that Komui, Krory, and Miranda had all dropped by for a small holiday greeting as well as a meeting.)

Allen woke up on Christmas morning lying a small mattress provided by Remus Lupin the other night. He and Lavi were squished into Harry and Ron's room, but since they were both used to less than comfortable nights due to their missions, weren't complaining. The mattresses were comfortable and the blankets were also warm, anyway. But what surprised them most of all were the boxes stacked up at the foot of their makeshift beds.

They were rather large, almost the same size as Harry and Ron's, but Allen noticed that he had almost double the size.

"Wha-?"

"Yeah, some of us got you two each," Lavi said to Allen's confused face as the boy picked up two large boxes, both of which were from Lenalee.

"Good haul this year," Ron said to Harry. "Thanks for the Broom Compass, it's excellent, beats Hermione's- she's got me a _homework planner-"_

"I got a new eyepatch," Lavi said cheerfully, tying the string behind his head. "It's more comfortable, I have to say."

"Hmm," Allen said absentmindedly, carefully putting aside the mince pies given to him by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. "It's a compass," he muttered, opening the small package from Ron.

"I heard from Lavi you get lost a lot," the boy said with a grin. "What's that? A potion?"

"From Fred and George," Allen said, reading the card. He grimaced. "Heightening Potion, they invented it- gee...Harry, thanks for the cards. The old deck was getting a bit frayed..."

"Yeah," Harry said.

"What are you doing?" Lavi asked the boy, watching as Harry turned and squinted curiously at a canvas.

"It's-"

"Merry Christmas," George said, suddenly appearing- Apparating- at the foot of Harry's bed with Fred. "Don't go downstairs for a bit."

"Why not?" Ron asked.

"Mum's crying again," Fred said bitterly. "Percy sent back his Christmas jumper."

"Without a note. Hasn't asked how Dad is or visited him or anything..." George added.

"We tried to comfort her," Fred said, trudging through the pile of gifts around Harry to peer at the picture on the canvas. "Told her Percy's nothing more than a humongous pile of rat droppings-"

"-didn't work," George sighed, helping himself to a Chocolate Frog. "So Lupin took over. Best let him cheer her up before we go down for breakfast, I reckon."

"What's that supposed to be anyway?" Fred asked Harry. Allen moved over to them and took a look: The picture was horrible.

"It's from Dobby-"

"I can't tell what it is-"

"Looks like a gibbon with two black eyes," Fred said.

"It's Harry!" Geroge gasped, pointing at the back of the picture. "Says so on the back!"

"Good likeness," Fred said, and dodged the homework planner Harry threw at him.

Lavi, taking a peek at the picture, burst into a laughing fit and rolled around on the floor. Allen continued to squint and peer at the painting, trying to see an inkling of similarity between teh real Harry and the Harry in the portrait.

_

* * *

_

**Q: **Are Allen and the others going to make any difference or changes to the book's original plotline? Like...Sirius NOT dying? That'd be nice...

**A: **I doubt there will be any changes like that. The final conclusions of the story (who's going to die/live, what happens) will be the same, most likely, even if I change things around a bit in the middle.

**Q: **Kuro-chan's last name is Alaster or something is'nt it?

**A: **This is a question that actually has nothing much to do with the story, but Krory is his last name. Our beloved character's full name is Arystar Krory III (the third).


	32. Return to Hogwarts

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcist

Thirty-Two: Return to Hogwarts **

* * *

**

**Disclaimers**: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

The boys ventured downstairs once they suspected that Mrs. Weasley's tears had ceased. Hermione met up with them on the way. "Thanks for the book, Harry! I've been wanting that_ New Theory of Numerology _for ages! And that perfume is really unusual, Ron," she said. 

"No problem," Ron said. "Who's that for anyway?"

Hermione headed up a neatly wrapped present proudly. "Kreacher," she said.

"It had better not be clothes!" Ron warned her. "You know what Sirius said, Kreacher knows too much, we can't set him free!"

"It isn't clothes," Hermione said irritably, "although if I had my way I'd certainly give him something to wear other than that filthy old rag. No, it's a patchwork quilt, I thought it would brighten up his bedroom."

"What bedroom?" Harry asked quietly, passing a curtain. All of the Weasley boys, too, gave it apprehensive books. Allen and Lavi followed their example without knowing or understanding why.

"Well, Sirrius says it's not so much a bedroom, more a kind of- _den," _Hermione said. "Apparently he sleeps under the boiler in the cupboard off the kitchen."

"I think I'll pass on giving him that present," Lavi said, smiling apologetically. "I know it's Christmas and all, but us Exorcists honestly odn't have holidays. We should go back to see Komui and the others."

"Yes, we should," Allen said somewhat disappointedly. "Hermione, give Kreacher my greetings. Where's Lenalee?"

"She's already outside," Hermione said as she, Harry, Ron, and the twins to head for the basement kitchen. "Merry Christmas."

"Oh," Harry said and turned to Allen. Grinning, he said, "Happy birthday, Allen."

"Er-" Allen said, feeling something in his stomach drop, leaving a whooping and empty feeling there. He smiled, knowing helplessly that it would only come out as a grimace, and said, "Thank you, Harry."

"Why'd you not look so happy back there, Allen?" Lavi asked as the two of them stepped out of Grimmauld Place. Lenalee was standing by the street waiting, wearing a coat. In her left hand, she was holding a small bag.

When the boys walked up to her, she held it out to them and said, "Put your presents in here, Mrs. Weasley enchanted it for me so that everything will fit in here."

"Thanks," Allen and Lavi said, dumping their load of gifts into the bag. "So where are we headed?" Lavi asked.

"St. Mungo's," Lenalee said, giving Allen a strange look. "To give Mr. Weasley our greetings, and then we'll meet up with Komui and the others in a pub and inn called the Leaky Cauldron. It's in London."

"Excuse me," Allen began, returning her look, "but how are we supposed to get to the hospital?"

"That's what I asked Komui," Lenalee said, smiling. Pulling her right hand out of her coat pocket, she held it out over the street.

There was a sudden, loud BANG, and all three Exorcists, including Lenalee, jumped back three feet as a violently purple vehicle (which Allen and his comrades had learned from Harry to be 'cars', a much more convenient and advanced version of the carriages the Exorcists were all used to) screeched to a halt before them. Allen recognized it as a triple-decker, Ron had shown him a moving photograph of one before. Judging from the color and the magical appearance of it, and the golden letters glittering over the windshield, this bus was also the very one that Ron had almost talked nonstop about the other day. The-

"Welcome to the Knight Bus," said a young man a bit older than Lavi who was wearing a purple uniform and had many pimples and large ears. He was looking down at a piece of paper, and Allen had a suspicion that he was reading his speech off of it as he ocntinued, "Emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan SHunpike, and I will be your conductor for this morning."

"Ehm..." Lavi said nervously. "Hi."

"What you all doin' there?" Stan asked curiously, staring at the three feet that stretched between the bus and the three frightened Exorcists. "How d'you reach the street from _there?"_

_"_S-sorry," Lenalee said with a slight laugh. "We were a bit...stunned."

"'Choo being stunned for?" Stan asked again. "Ne'er mind, you. Get in, get in. I'll take that for you-"

The interior of the Knight Bus was crammed with mismatched chairs, and there seemed to be not many people on board. The few who were looked slightly green in the face or were ghost white. Stun made an urging noise from behind them, and the Exorcists weaved their way to the very back of the bus and sat down, Lenalee taking her bag from the conductor with a word of thanks.

"Where to?" Stan asked.

"St. Mungo's," Lenalee answered. "How much is it?"

Stan's eyes flicked over them quickly. "Eleven Sickles each," he said, "but for firteen you get 'ot chocolate and for fifteen you get an 'ot water an' a toofbrush in the color of your choice."

"No thanks," Lenalee smiled, handing over thirty-three coins.

Stan grinned. "Enjoy your ride," he said cheerfully, handing them their tickets. "Take 'er away, Ern," he called to the driver at the front.

With another deafening BANG, the Knight Bus lurched forward, and Allen felt his chair tip over. The next moment, his head was throbbing and he was on his back on the floor. Lavi and Lenalee were looking down at him with both worry and amusement, their hands gripping onto candle brackets tightly.

"Are you alright down there, Allen?" Lavi said, pulling the boy up and fixing his chair.

"Yes," Allen muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

"Ne'er seen faces like yours 'round here," Stun mused, peering at Allen closely. "That dyed hair?"

"What? No!" Allen squeaked, feeling offended. "I've never dyed my hair."

"We're from somewhere else," Lenalee said quickly. "We're just visiting a relative at St. Mungo's- broom accident, see."

"Almost there," Stan said, apparently not listening. "Next stop. Ern, don't forget old lady at twelve o'clock..."

------------------

"That's...it!" Lavi gasped as the Knight Bus sped away at the speed of sound (or light, something impossible to follow with the naked eye.) "I am never, _ever _going to ride that thing again!"

"We have to though," Allen said, walking up to the ugly dummy in the old store's window, which was also the entrance to the magical hospital, St. Mungo's. "Good morning, we're here to see Arthur Weasley."

The dummy didn't move for a few seconds. Then, for a reason that Allen was getting used to (magic), her fingers moved in a beckoning motion, and the Exorcists stepped into the window, through a cool sensation of walking through a waterfall, and into the lively reception room of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

"He's on the First Floor-"

And so he was, cheerful and chipper, propped up on pillows, eating breakfast. Arthur Weasley greeted the three of them merrily, showing off his newly wrapped bandages, begging them not to tell his wife about the stitches, and wishing that they'd a good Christmas morning.

"Thanks, Mr. Weasley," Lavi said, sitting down, followed by Lenalee and Allen. "How are you?"

"Fine, fine," Mr. Weasley laughed. "Now, since it's only you three here," he said, lowering his voice, "I take it that this is not an ordinary visit to someone's sickbed, is it?"

"We came to give our blessings," Lenalee said, "because we will be heading back after this. My brother- the Supervisor is calling us."

There was something sad and pitying in Mr. Weasley's eyes as he surveyed them silently for a minute. "I see," he nodded.

"We'll be going now," Allen said, holding out a wrapped box. "It's not much, and it's my first time wrapping anything, so it's a bit messy..."

"Thank you," Mr. Weasley smiled, taking the gift. "For everything you guys did. Lavi, I hope I'm paired with you again soon."

The Exorcists left the ward, but Allen, who was the last one out of the room, thought he heard Mr. Weasley talking to himself as he closed the door behind him.

"Honestly, they're still children- the same age as Ron...Apostles of God or not, how could Dumbledore ask them to fight...?"

"Allen? Let's go," Lenalee urged, grabbing the boy's hand and walking down the hall.

"Oh, hi, Neville-" Lavi said.

"Hurry!" Lenalee hissed at the two of them.

Several minutes later, the three stumbled out of the hospital, into the middle of the street, and Lenalee whipped out a piece of paper from her pocket. "That way, she pointed," leading the boys down through the crowd. "Komui said he would meet us there, and then we'll take a Portkey to Hogsmeade village-"

"What's a Portkey?"

"It's an easier way to move between different places," Allen said, "but we don't want Umbridge to see us do that in the middle of grounds, so we're going to Hogsmeade and then trecking back to Hogwarts...er- right?"

"Precisely," Lenalee nodded, pushing open a door to an inn. "Come on."

"_Lenalee_!" a voice exclaimed, and the girl disappeared behind a curtain of white as the coated figure of Komui Lee embraced her tightly. "I missed you so much! Are you okay? No injuries? No weird guys touching you? No fever? No-?"

"Komui, get off," Lenalee said, a hint of irritation in her voice. "We don't have time until the Portkey leaves."

"Komui, you can hug her all you want once we get back to Hogwarts," Lavi said. "Let's just get going, 'specially since we've not much time."

"Thirty more seconds," Komui said, letting go of his sister, a serious look returning to his face. "Upstairs. Oh, Tom, thanks for the drink."

"Come back any time," the barman said with a small twist of his lips.

Komui led the Exorcists up a flight of stairs, down a hallway, and into a small room. It was like one of the inns Allen had sometimes stayed at during his missions, but this time, he would only be here for a few seconds. Sitting on a table in the middle of the room was what anyone would call nothing more than junk: a battered and tattered moth eaten top hat. Komui and Lenalee both put a hand on the hat, and following their example, Allen and Lavi did so as well.

"Three," Komui said, "two-"

Just like that one night when he and Lenalee left Dumbledore's office, Allen felt a force pull him upward. Or maybe it was something pulling the floor down. Either way, he felt a fleeing, floating, sinking sensation in his stomach, as if he'd missed a step on the stairs going down...There was a sudden jolt, and Allen could only wonder if he was spinning, or if the world was spinning...The only thing he was aware of was a strong gush of wind a colors flitting by, Lavi's shoulder banging into his arm, Lenalee's hair almost whipping his face, his own coat flapping behind him like a flag...

And then, landing hard and painfully on the snow covered street in the middle of Hogsmeade.

"We're here," Lavi said, picking himself off the ground. Komui was already on his feet and helping Lenalee up, and Allen stumbled as he stood up, the snow making his feet slip and catching his ankles, threatening his balance. There weren't that many people around, it being a rather early hour in the morning, but the few passersby all gave them fleeting looks and hurried off. Allen blamed their apprehension on the Portkey, which had disappeared by the time he cared enough to look for it.

"I've assigned Kanda, Krory, and Miranda to assisting the Order of the Phoenix," Komui explained as he led them up the street towards the castle. "You three will be protecting the castle from any enemies, which would most likely be Akuma- I don't think any of the wizards would show themselves before us any time soon...When Kanda and the others come back, they will join you."

"How are we going to explain to Umbridge if she ever finds us? We disappeared for days..."

"We've _been _disappearing several days before the holidays anyway," Allen said to Lavi. "I'm sure she took notice of it, but even she wouldn't bother with something once she finds a pattern in it. Plus, we aren't under her control, teacher, High Inquisitor, governor, or whatever. If we aren't in her class we aren't students either, and we aren't even citizens here."

"I get your point, Moyashi," Lavi muttered.

"Hey!"

"Guys, I know it's Christmas and all," Komui sighed, "and I know it's Allen's birthday, but..."

"Huh?"

"I think guests have arrived a bit sooner than we thought," Lenalee said, pushing her brother to hide somewhere. "I am so glad school's out."

"_**You'll be smiling," **_the Akuma sniggered at her, leering at Allen and Lavi as well. _**"You'll be smiling when I slice you to bits."**_

_**"**_Sorry, but I'd prefer not to be turned to mince," Lavi said coolly, his hand reaching for his hammer.

_Huh...?_

"_**Do you know how exihilarating it is to cut skin?" **_the Akuma asked excitedly, showing off its sharp pincer like hands.

_Where did it come from...?_

_"_There's more," Lenalee pointed out as around ten more Akuma appeared before them, bearing their ugly metal bodies.

_I didn't see it..._

_"_Time to have some wild time," Lavi said to Allen and jumped away, followed by Lenalee. Komui stood back, watching after them, looking both awed and terrified, hopeful and helpless.

_...Why?_

_"_Allen!" Lenalee called. "What are you _doing?" _

_"_You'll get killed!" Lavi yelled, and the boy was snapped out of his trance just in time to activate his Innocence and block the Akuma's bullets.

"I didn't see them," Allen muttered in disbelief, but shook off the thought and joined his comrades in the battle.

_Mana...what happened to you?_

After destroying three Akuma at once, Allen took a glance around. He could see metal body after metal body. A lump of Dark Matter after lump after lump.

No souls. No purple, eerie light.

"What's with your eye?" Lavi asked, passing by him. "It's not working again? It's gray, you're not using it?"

"I-"

"Must be because of the castle," Lavi growled with a frustrated grin. "If it's not working altogether, then I'll reckon the protection's gotten stronger."

"Sorry," Allen said.

"Keh-!"

---------------

"Is it time, Earl?" the girl asked, leaning back in her armchair and sucking on a lollipop.

"How long are we going to mess around with that human guy?" the youth added, boredly flipping through a book. "I never expected you to work with somebody else."

"He was never on Tom Riddle's side anyway," Road Kamelot said, pointing her lollipop like a wand. "Oooh, Avada Kadavra! Look, I can do magic. Heh, it's just a little joke compared to us."

"Road, watch your mouth, please," the Millennium Earl said sweetly yet warningly. "Althought what you say is true."

"I heard Counterfeit Boy A is losing his eyesight."

"Yes."

"Then it would be an easy kill, wouldn't it?" Tyki said. "I mean, without that eye, the boy is just like any other Exorcist."

"Where will it be?" Road drawled.

The Millennium Earl turned his smiling face to her and said, "They call it the Department of Mysteries. I am not sure if the Heart is there, but even if it isn't, it is an ideal way to try to eliminate the Exorcists."


	33. Father and Son

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcist

Thirty-Three: Father and Son **

* * *

**

**Disclaimers**: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

Winter holidays ended with a flow of students returning to Hogwarts on carriages drawn by the supposedly invisible thestrals. At first, Allen had barely noticed it, but after seeing the appalled look on Kanda's face, being laughed at by Lavi, and being scolded by Lenalee, Allen swore not to space out and pay more attention to what was going on. Timcampy was also aiding him by poking him hard in the eye every other ten minutes. 

Yet-

"Oh, Mr. Walker!" Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington (otherwise known as Sir Nicholas and Nearly Headless Nick) exclaimed as he passed by Allen. "You'd like to watch out, you would. Peeves just barely squashed you with that vase just now- and he'll start singing soon-!"

"Ho?" Allen said, not having heard the ghost. Turning, he saw the smashed vase on the floor behind him and Peeves the Poltergeist taking a deep breath. "Oh..._Langlock!"_

Peeves immediately started making strange noises, as his tongue had just glued itself to the roof of his mouth. The trouble-loving ghost brandished an obsene hand gesture at Allen (although the boy didn't see it) and flew away, followed by a rather amused Sir Nicholas.

"_Reparo," _Allen muttered to the vase and lifted it back onto the pedestal it once stood on. Then, the boy returned to his cruising of the corridors.

Why was he so woolgathering, you may ask.

He wondered the same thing occasionally, when his mind wasn't preoccupied by the thoughts, which were the reasons he was so _dreamy._

Why did he let it get to him so much, he thought.

It was only an eye-

A_ cursed _eye.

It was only a curse-

And it _never _failed him before.

It had been malfunctioning for a while now-

But now it wasn't working _at all, _which had never happened before.

He might've damaged it somewhere-

_Where?_

During a mission-

_What mission?_

Oh yes, it bothered him. It bothered him a lot. It wouldn't leave his mind. It nagged him, day and night. He thought about it all the time. He could think on it for hours at a time. It drove him mad.

He couldn't believe it.

It shouldn't be possible.

Mana's curse had met its match.

The Millennium Earl had now found a way to render him powerless.

"Dammit," Allen growled, slamming his fist into the stone wall, feeling something in his hand crunch painfully. "Dammit," he repeated.

"Ho ho, Allen," an amused voice said behind him. "I never knew you were one to use such words."

_Dammit, _Allen thought with an inward groan. "Hi, Ginny," he said.

Ginny Weasley walked up to him with a smirk. "If you want to whine and complain you should," she told him teasingly. "But I suggest you don't punch the walls."

"Yeah," Allen replied vaguely, rubbing his abused hand.

"Are you alright?" Ginny asked, furrowing her eyebrows. "Is there something wrong?"

"Wrong? Pshaw. Everything's fine-"

"Hm?"

"Er..."

"Well?" Ginny urged.

"Fine, you've caught me," Allen sighed.

"You _are _pretty obvious, and _nobody _goes around hitting stone walls for fun- or is that a hobby?"

"Very funny, Ginny..."

"I mean it, sometimes you and Lavi and that Kanda person are really hard to understand," Ginny stated.

"Hey! Please do not put me in the same category as-!"

"So what's up?"

"Uh?"

"What's got you so upset?"

"Oh, that's..."

It was then that Allen launched into his not-so-long story about Christmas night, about the Akuma attack, about his eye ceasing to discern Akuma souls. It was too late by the time he tried to stop himself, but he had also let slip about the worst of his fears.

"It's like Mana's left me," he told Ginny, a cold feeling pouring over him. "I don't know what's happening. There was a time before that I couldn't use my left eye, but that was because the eye itself was damaged. This time, though, my eye isn't injured, but it isn't working. What if Mana left? It feels as if I'd lost that one connection to him-"

"Connection?" Ginny cut in suddenly, giving Allen a strange look.

"Yes, a connection..."

"You call _this _a connection?" Ginny asked, rather harshly, swiping away Allen's bangs and glaring at his left eye. Her free hand poked the pentacle on his forehead and traveled down, tracing the old scar.

Allen didn't get it. He didn't have the time to. Ginny was too close for his comfort, and he felt a tingling in his toes as heat rose to his face.

The youngest Weasley backed away, not showing a sign of being flustered or embarrassed, and Allen hoped he wasn't humiliating himself. He self consciously coughed to clear his throat.

"I know enough about your eye to have an opinion about it," Ginny said. "To me it's one thing and one thing only, a curse. The truth is that your father, for whatever reason, took the liberty to give you that nasty scar and curse you with something so horrible that Lavi lost his appetite upon experiencing it. I don't know how you've dealt with anything like that, but I know that if my dad died and I turned him into an Akuma, he would never curse me-"

"It's because you're not compatible with the Innocence-"

"You said before that you _don't know _the reason your dad cursed you-"

Allen just groaned.

"Look," Ginny said, lightly hitting his back, a stern look in her eyes. "I don't know what the curse is to you and your dad, but it surely can't be the _only _thing that reminds you of him."

She shoved him, making him back up against the wall, and poked him hard in the chest. "Right here," she said, "is where Mana Walker really is. Not your eye, not your mind. _Here."_

_"_Where?"

"Your heart, your memories, the part of you that loves him," Ginny said impatiently. "He might not be your blood relative, but he accepted you and that hand of yours. Even _I _think that arm is sometimes revolting- and trust me, I have seen some very disgusting things even before coming to Hogwarts."

"But-"

"Mana won't ever leave you," Ginny said to Allen, jabbing her finger harder against his chest (painfully too.) "He's your dad, he loves you, and you know it. Loved ones never leave, understood? The only thing is that the curse isn't functioning the way it should- which would normally be a _good _thing, mind- and you're handicapped and panicked and you're thinking that your dad's soul hates you because you made him into an Akuma at one point. It's paranoia. I'd say you need a break."

"I don't-"

"I _know, _Allen. Ron and Harry and Fred and George and Lavi and Jordan Lee...how many witnesses do you think I've heard from? You haven't slept at all since you came back on Christmas day! Plus you've got so much luggage under your eyes you could run away with them and you're dazed almost all the time. I _saw _when Peeves almost killed you with that vase!"

"Ginny-"

"Oh no, don't tell me you have anything more to argue about-"

"No-"

"Allen-"

"Ginny, you're _hurting _me!" Allen said finally, grabbing her offending hand and pushing it away from him. "Please stop poking me. Alright, alright, I understand. I'm just worried about nothing, aren't I? I understand, okay...I'm fine now...fine."

Ginny would be thinking he was crazy, standing there, against the wall, gripping her wrist, head hanging, shoulders shaking. Laughing and crying at the same time. Glad? Relieved? Self-ridiculing? Appalled?

How did he feel now?

He was still uncertain, but suddenly he thought himself silly.

Of _course _Mana still loved him. He wouldn't leave. Mana was his father. He was Mana's son.

God.

He was so _stupid. _

_"_You can let go of my hand now, thank you," Ginny said not unkindly. "You should go talk to Lenalee and Lavi. They're worried _crazy _about you, I swear. They said they were almost afraid you would undersleep yourself to death, maybe walk off a cliff and not notice it because you're so _tired."_

_"_Really?" Allen asked, half laughing.

"Really," Ginny nodded. "Lenalee's brother, Komui, looked concerned too. Honestly, your curse is more trouble than its worth, I'm telling you."

"Yeah, it is," Allen said, putting a hand over his eye. "But I'm okay."

Ginny smiled at him and turned to the side, as if noticing something. Her smile just got wider as she said, "Perfect timing. They're here. Well, I'll be seeing you around, Allen." Adjusting her bag on her shoulder, she swung her bright red hair over her shoulder and walked away, replaced shortly by a worried and relived Lavi and Lenalee, who were giving Allen the weakest glares he'd ever seen.

"Hi," Allen and Lavi said, one sounding nervous while the other was questioning.

"Allen, you look _horrible_," Lenalee said.

Allen blanched. "Huh?"

"No, not in that way," Lenalee said quickly, shaking her head slightly.

"You look like you just came back from the dead!" Lavi teased good naturedly, poking Allen's forehead. "Pale, bags under eyes, stringy hair, wrinkled clothes, and you're skinnier than ever. I can't believe it- have you been _skipping meals? _The world must be coming to an-"

"Lavi," Lenalee and Allen said warningly.

"Sorry," Lavi said sheepishly. "You alright, though?" he added on a more serious note.

"Fine," Allen shrugged. "I got yelled at by Ginny just now. She's a very...sharp witted person."

"Her nails too," Lavi agreed. "I saw her poking you."

"It was more like _stabbing-"_

_"_What was troubling you?" Lenalee cut in.

"The curse, it's gone, but I'm okay now-"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"If you say so."

"When's the next D.A. meeting, by the way?" Allen asked, changing the subject as a partially satsified look fell on Lenalee's face.

"That? Harry hasn't picked one. He's supposedly got Remedial Potions-"

"He's got _what?"_

"Remedial-"

"It's just a cover," Lenalee interrupted Lavi. "He's taking Occlumency with Professor Snape. According to Komui, Professor Dumbledore thinks Voldemort might try to get into Harry's mind like Harry did the snake when he found Mr. Weasley. In order to prevent Legilimenscy, which is the name of the magic of getting into people's minds, he's taking Occulmency, which is the prevention of Legilimency. Although I also heard that there hasn't been much progress..."

"Well, I wouldn't expect much when it comes to Harry and Snape," Lavi commented. "That's like Allen and Yu."

"Kanda and _anyone _is like Harry and Snape," Allen corrected.

"Anyway, Lenalee and I were asked to gather up everyone and find Komui in Dumbledore's office," Lavi said. "Let's go now, shall we?"

Allen agreed, and he trailed after his friends as they began their way down the hall. He could feel something warm in him, past the painful bruise forming where Ginny had abused him with her sharp fingernails.

He could feel Mana.

Watching, smiling, loving.

_Sorry for doubting you, _Allen thought, _Dad..._

* * *

Hello readers,

It has been a while since I last updated, my apologies for that. (sigh) This chapter is, obviously, a filler. I thought I should add something original in between the continuous Harry Potter Book 5 storyline, so here it is. I hope you enjoyed it.


	34. Breakout

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcist

Thirty-Four: Breakout **

* * *

**

**Disclaimers**: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

"Valentine's Day?" Allen repeated, looking up from his book to stare at Lavi. "What's that? A holiday?" 

"You've never heard of it?" Lavi demanded, clearly surprised.

Allen looked away, flushing slightly. "Yes, I have," he mumbled. "When I was with Mana some of the customers would talk about it. It usually happened around this time of the year, and I never had any idea what it was..."

Lavi was still goggling at him, mouth hanging open and the forgotten book held loosely in his hand. Then, his face broke out in an amused smile and his shoulders shook with mirth as he tried without success to hold in a laugh.

"What?" Allen said. "What's so _funny?"_

_"_I can't _believe _it," Lavi said, tears shining happily in his eyes. He leaned across the table and grinned in Allen's face, the white haired boy backing away to maintain a comfortable distance, shrinking in his chair. "Valentine's Day is the official holiday where people go up to the people they like and tell them so. God, Allen, it's only in ten days! Haven't you seen the tension about all those girls?"

Allen blinked up at Lavi in confusion.

There actually was a holiday for that?

He never knew that...

"I don't understand," he said honestly.

Lavi snickered. "You're so naive," he said in a chipper voice and ruffled Allen's hair. "Here's something: there are a ton of girls talking about you everywhere in the castle. Come February the fourteenth and you'll wish you could hide in a broom cupboard all day."

"Is it that bad?" Allen asked, his voice slightly squeaky with anxiety.

"It's really a good thing," Lavi answered merrily, "but when you're as popular as you are- and especially if you never had any idea about it- it's real tough."

Allen shivered, then his thoughts strayed away from his own wellbeing. Thoughtful, he said mostly to himself, "I wonder what Harry's going to do?"

"That Cho Chang girl?" Lavi said. "The one that looks like Lenalee? I dunno, but she'll probably expect him to ask her out, won't she? Let's just hope Harry won't mistake Lenalee for Cho...that would be horrible. In many ways."

"Komui has a radar for anyone getting too close to Lenalee," Allen sighed, "and Cho won't be happy either."

"But of course, it's likely he'd be hanging around her all day so no one would be able to get closer than ten feet to her anyway."

"That's a possibility."

And the two Exorcists broke into a laughing fit as they imagined what Valentine's Day would be like. As it was also a Hogsmeade weekend, they hoped Komui would allow them to leave the castle to look around at the village.

"Be quiet, the both of you!" the librarian, Madam Pince snapped at them. "Merlin's beard...you're in the _library_."

"Sorry, Madam Pince," Lavi giggled.

"What are you guys talking about?" Hermione and Ron asked, sitting down beside them at the table and setting down their quills, ink bottles, and parchment. The library was filled with fifth years studying for their O.W.L. (Ordinary Wizarding Level) exams. Harry wasn't among them, for he was supposedly with Professor Snape in his office doing Remedial Potions.

In truth, he was doing Occulmency.

"Teaching Allen about Valentine's Day," Lavi answered with a grin. "He had no clue what it was."

"You _didn't?" _Ron gasped. "Bloody _hell, _Allen. Valentine's is the best day in the year-"

"I was too young to learn about it from Mana, and Master Cross would never have mentioned anything like that to me, and after going to the Order I was too busy trying not to get killed to even recognize the existence of the day," Allen mumbled.

"You'll like it," Hermione said. "Everyone knows you love food. I'd expect you to be loaded with chocolate."

"I see Harry," Lavi said, and the black haired boy trudged into the library, white faced and sweating and looking as if he was a survivor of some mad science experiment or had just woken up with an immensely high fever.

"How did it go?" Hermione whispered as he threw himself into the chair beside Allen. "Are you alright, Harry?"

"Yeah...fine...I dunno," Harry said rougly, wincing. "Listen...I've just realized something..."

"What is it?" Allen asked, narrowing his eyes at Harry.

"That weapon Voldemort is looking for," Harry began, ignoring Ron as he jumped violently in his seat. "I think it's in the Ministry-"

"What do you mean?" Hermione said.

"The dreams and visions of mine..." Harry said, and launched into a story about a place called the Department of Mysteries, a long corridor, the one where he found Mr. Weasley...so on and so forth. Allen and Lavi weren't listening so closely to the story, for they already had a good guess what Harry was getting at.

"So...so, are you saying," Ron said in a low whisper as Madam Pince passed by again, "that the weapon- the thing You-Know-Who's after- is in the Ministry of Magic?"

"In the Department of Mysteries, it's got to be," Harry hissed back. "I saw the door when your dad took me down to the courtrooms for my hearing and it's definitely the same one he was guarding when the snake bit him- right, Lavi?"

The Bookman didn't say yes, but he didn't say no, either. He just gave Harry and his friends a hard look.

"Of course," Hermione sighed.

"Of course what?" Ron asked quickly.

"Ron, think about it...Sturgis Podmore was trying to get through a door at the Ministry of Magic...It must have been that one, it's too much of a coincidence!"

"How come Sturgis was trying to break in when he's on our side?" Ron asked.

"Well, I don't know," Hermione said. "That _is _a bit odd..."

"So what's in the Department of Mysteries?" Harry asked Ron. "Has your dad mentioned anything about them?"

Ron looked thoughtful for a moment. "I know they call the people who work in there the 'Unspeakables,'" he said with a frown. "Because no one really seems to know what they do in there...Weird place to have a weapon..."

"Weird?" Lavi repeated.

"It's not weird at all, it makes perfect sense," Hermione corrected. "It will be something top secret that the Ministry has been developing, I expect...Harry, are you sure you're alright?"

She turned to Harry, who was pressing his hands hard against his forehead as if to iron it. "Yeah...fine..." he said, loweing his shaking hands. "I just feel a bit...I don't like Occlumency much..."

"I expect anyone would feel shaky if they'd had thei mind attacked over and over again," Hermione sympathized. "Look, let's get back to the common room, we'll be a bit more comfortable there..."

"Ah-" Allen began, but lowered his voice and looked at Lavi apprehensively. "I don't think that's a good idea," he muttered, and Lavi gave him a questioning look.

Upon entering the common room, the five were hit by a strong burst of energy and a loud cheering, Fred, Geroge, and Lee Jordan in the midst of the din. "Headless Hats!" they exclaimed, and Lenalee, sitting near them with a slightly interested look, shrugged at her friends before Lee Jordan threw a hat on top of her head- which disappeared, as if on cue.

"Lenalee!" Allen gasped, but the now headless girl's hand groped around where her head would be and pulled off the hat, her head reappearing with an annoyed look. Somewhere to her left, George was doing the exact same thing, although with a lot more enthusiasm and cheeriness on his face as he did so. Allen could only stare in wonder, but Lavi was immediately on the floor laughing his own head off.

"How do those hats work, then?" Hermione mused as the Exorcists joined her, Harry, and Ron at the table where they were trying to continue their homework. "I mean, obviously, it's some kind of Invisibility Spell, but it's rather clever to have extended the field of invisibility beyond the boundaries of the charmed object...I'd imagine the charm wouldn't have a very long life though..."

"I'm going to have to do this tomorrow," Harry murmured, cramming the books he pulled out back into his bag. He still looked pale and ill.

"Well, write it in your homework planner then!" Hermione encouraged. "So you don't forget!"

Pulling the small thing out of his bag and exchanging weary looks with Ron, Harry seemed as if he wouldn't like anything better than to throw the homework planner into the fireplace.

_"Don't leave it till later, you big second-rater!" _the book squeaked merrily, and Hermione beamed at it.

"I think I'll go to bed," Harry said and left.

"Me too," Allen said, yawning widely. "I'm still really sleepy."

"Your fault," Lavi said simply.

"Good night, everyone," Allen said, ignoring Lavi and waving at Lenalee before he slipped into the dormitory after Harry.

Bumping right into him.

"Harry?"

The boy was laughing, quietly at first then louder...louder..._louder..._

Harry might as well have been a mad scientist who succeeded in completing a insane experiment. As Harry fell to the floor, still laughing, Allen, a bit frightened and apprehensive, crouched beside him and shook his shoulders, calling his name.

_What's going on? _he thought desperately.

"Harry?" he said. "Harry!"

It was at the point that Ron came crashing into the dormitory, face contorted in shock, although it seemed as if he had expected something like this to happen. The tall boy joined Allen's side and yelled,

"Harry? HARRY!"

And he hit Harry, hard, across the face.

"OW!" punctuated Harry's maniacal laughter, and he opened his eyes to stare into Ron's and Allen's faces.

"What happened?" Ron demanded.

"I...dunno..." Harry gasped. "He's really happy...really happy..."

"You-Know-Who is?"

"Something good's happened," Harry said. He was shaking badly, and Allen draped his coat over his shoulders. "Something he'd been hoping for."

"Hermione told me to come and check on you," Ron explained quietly as he and Allen helped their friend toward him bed. "She says your defenses will be low at the moment, after Snape's been fiddling around with your mind...Still, I suppose it'll help in the long run, won't it?"

Harry nodded in his dazed state, and Ron left for the common room with a small good night.

The next morning, before Allen ever had the time to say good morning to Harry and the others at the breakfast table, Lenalee whipped past him and Lavi, stuffing a piece of toast into Allen's mouth and handing the boy another handful of the bread, dragged him out of the Great Hall.

"Umph!" Allen grunted, nearly choking on the toast. "Lavi- what are you _doing?"_

_"_Summons from Komui," Lenalee answered impatiently, "to all Exorcists in the castle, us."

"It's urgent because the golems started screeching in our ears in the middle of breakfast," Lavi added. "And Hermione looked as if she saw a ghost while reading the newspapers...I'll bet it has something to do with that!"

"Ah- could I have that?" Allen asked a passing fourth year, who handed him his copy of the _Daily Prophet _with a pitying look, for Allen's face was turning slightly purple, what with Lavi's tight grip on his collar as he dragged him down the corridor. "Thank you!"

Allen quickly scanned the front page, and felt his stomach drop as he gasped, "Look!"

"What?" Lavi asked, and the three of them came to a halt in front of a gargoyle as Lenalee said the password to Dumbledore's office. When they hopped onto the moving spiral staircase, Allen showed them the _Prophet. _In large, bold lettering, a headline screamed out at them:

**MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN-  
MINISTRY FEARS BLACK IS "RALLYING POINT" FOR OLD DEATH EATERS  
**

"The hell-?" Lavi gasped.

"Isn't this what Komui wants to talk to us about?" Allen asked Lenalee.

"I don't know-"

"It is," Komui suddenly said, opening the oak doors from the inside and pulling the Exorcists into the headmaster's office, shutting the doors behind them softly. The calming presense of Dumbledore was nowhere to be seen, they were the only ones in the office."Since you have the paper with you, why don't you take a look?"

Allen quickly looked down at the article.

_"The Ministry of Magic announced late last night that there has been a mass breakout from Azkaban. _

_"Speaking to reporters in his private office, Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, confirmed that ten high-security prisoners escaped in the early hours yesterday evening, and that he has already informed the Muggle Prime Minister of the dangerous nature of these individuals._

_"'We find ourselves, most unfortunately, in the same position we were two and a half years ago when the murderer Sirius Black escaped,' said Fudge last night. 'Nor do we think the two breakouts are unrelated. An escape of this magnitude suggests outside help, and we must remember that Black, as the first person ever to break out of Azkaban, would be ideally placed to help others follow in his footsteps. We think it likely that these individuals, who include Black's cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, have rallied around Black as their leader. We are, however, doing all we can to round up the criminals and beg the magical community to remain alert and cautious. On no account should any of these indivisuals be approached.'" _

"That's horrible," Lenalee whispered after Allen finished reading. "Blaming it on Sirius."

"There's more," Lavi said, snatching the paper away from Allen and flipping through the pages. He grimaced. "Horrible, someone died. Look at this-"

He turned to the paper around so that Lenalee and Allen could read it:

**TRAGIC DEMISE OF MINISTRY OF MAGIC WORKER**

_St. Mungo's Hospital promised a full inquiry last night after Ministry of Magic worker Broderick Bode, age 49, was discovered dead in his bed, strangled by a potted-plant. Healers called to the scene were enable to revive Mr. Bode, who had been injured in a workplace accident some weeks prior to his death._

_Healer Miriam Strout, who was in charge of Mr. Bode's ward at the time of the incident, has been suspended on pull pay and was unavailable for comment yesterday, but a spokeswizard for the hospital said in a statement, "St. Mungo's deeply regrets the death of Mr. Bode, whose health was improving steadily prior to this tragic accident._

_"We have strict guidelines on the decorations permitted on our wards but it appears that Healer Strout, busy over the Christmas period, overlooked the dangers of the plant on Mr. Bode's bedside table. As his speech and mobility improved, Healer Strout encouraged Mr. Bode to look after the plant himself, unaware that it was not an innocent Flitterbloom, but a cutting of Devil's Snare, which, when touched by the convalscent Mr. Bode, throttled him instantly._

_"St. Mungo's is as yet unable to account for the presense of the plant on the ward and asks any witch or wixard with information to come forward."_

"Bode?" Allen said. "Do we know him?"

"No," Lavi said, "but Harry and his friends do. I was talking to them the other day about what they did on Christmas, said they saw their old teacher and Bode was in the same ward."

"I asked Dumbledore about it upon reading the _Prophet," _Komui said, sitting down in a chair, "and I also contacted Arthur Weasley about it. Broderick Bode is an Unspeakble who works in the Ministry's Department of Mysteries. You would, of course, know what _that _means, won't you?"

The question was for Lavi in particular.

"Yeah," the boy nodded grimly. "They're on the move now..."


	35. Valentine Red and Blues

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcist

Thirty-Five: Valentine Red and Blues **

* * *

**

**Disclaimers**: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

Despite the fact that many unfortunate events had plagued the community, Hogwarts School proceeded with its everyday schedule without much change. However, the Exorcists, who weren't at all affected by any of those minor changes, felt the desperation of the situation at full force. 

There were ten Death Eaters on the loose, which meant that their enemies, the Millennium Earl and Lord Voldemort, were at an advantage. They knew that Kanda was often away on missions, usually coming back with a broken rib or two that healed quickly. Although, after a while, Komui muttered something about leftover lives and stopped sending Kanda out of the castle (much to the samurai's irritation). Lenalee had also informed them that Rubeus Hagrid was on probation, and there were several armloads of rumors going around that the escaped prisoners were hiding out near Hogsmeade Village, in a battered unused place called the Shrieking Shack, but upon researching, there was nothing.

If there was any desperate need to say something changed greatly at the castle, everyone would quickly glance at the toady woman who marched down the hallway with an annoying air of authority. Dolores Umbridge had, during the year, passed many decrees, and just the other day, another one of them- Educational Decree Number Twenty-Six-had been passed. After the mass breakout, it was as if the woman was more determined than ever to stretch the fingers of her control to every crevice of the school. Conversations about her and the Ministry buzzed around everywhere.

But among and apart from those dark thoughts, there was also the very-hard-to-ignore tension among the female students.

Allen let out a deep sigh and glanced at the calendar by his bed.

It was February 14.

Dear. Gods.

He could hear Lavi's voice in his head.

Come February the fourteenth and you'll wish you could hide in a broom cupboard all day.

But he wouldn't have time to hide in a broom cupboard.

He had a mission. Thinking back on the meeting with Komui, Allen let out another deep sigh.

It was five days ago, and although Allen was glad Komui trusted him a lot, he still had to say that this mission was unnecessary. The conversation taken place over a pile of papers still rang clear in his head...

"_Bodyguard?"_

"You'll do it, won't you?" Komui begged, clasping his hands as if in a prayer and staring at him with watery puppy eyes, which wasn't as revolting as some may imagine it to be. In Allen's case, it may just be that he was used to it, but...

"Why?" he asked. "Lenalee doesn't-"

"Because it's Valentine's Day and I'm still trapped in the castle finishing up work!" Komui snapped as if that made all the sense in the world.

"Komui, I still say Lenalee won't _need _any guarding..."

"Oh, and why is that?"

"Because..."

_"_Hmmm?"

_Because I think Lenalee has enough responsibility to choose who she likes or not..._

_"_No, I'll do it..."

Komui's beaming face was so pure, Allen wondered why his happiness had to be caused by something so _ridiculous._

But, alas, he had agreed to do it, and it wasn't like he _minded _it much. He didn't find himself bothered about going to Hogsmeade with Lenalee, not that Valentine's had much to do with it. He _had _lived fifteen years without knowing about it. Why change that now? No, he was just surprised and a bit proud that Komui gave him _permission _to be out in town with his dear beloved sister.

Alone...

Not on a mission.

Well, he was, but he was sure it wouldn't be like any of the other ones...

It was a good feeling...

Not that he had any _extremely _special feelings for Lenalee. He didn't, and even if he did, he doubted Komui would allow _that..._

But Lenalee was cute...

But...

Well...

_Gods._

"The curse of Valentine's is getting to my head," Allen groaned, hitting his head multiple times on the pillar he was leaning against until a voice said,

"What are you doing, Allen?"

Opening his eyes, Allen saw Lenalee and Lavi standing before with looks of utmost confusion. Of course, why not? It surely isn't everyday one meets another banging his head on a stone _pillar._

_"_Er...hi," he said awkwardly.

"Where are they?" Lenalee asked excitedly. Allen shrugged and looked around at the line of students near them. _They _were nowhere to be seen. He then glanced at Lenalee, whose hair was (surprisingly) let loose to cascade down her back. She wasn't wearing her black Exorcist jacket for once, and looked nice in the thick knitted sweater she was wearing. He also noted that she wasn't wearing that _very _short skirt (which he knew some of the male Hogwarts students liked), and was instead wearing a pair of pants. By the look of her outfit, she had borrowed it from someone, most likely Hermione. Not that he minded, of course, since he too was wearing one of Harry's borrowed outfits.

What confused him, although, were the pair of glasses sitting on Lenalee's nose. It was probably more for fashionable reasons, but since he didn't understand anything about apparels, he didn't ask. He didn't bother to question her reasoning when she slammed a hat over his hair and his own pair of glasses onto his nose, nearly poking him in the eye.

"Who're you looking for?" Lavi asked, tugging on the collar of Fred Weasley's sweatshirt. "And Lenalee, why are you putting a disguise on Allen? Ow- hey, what are you doing- _don't_ mess with the hair!"

"Ooh! There they are!" Lenalee gasped, ignoring Lavi's protests and looking away from the now effectively unrecognizable boy. Allen craned his neck.

They were there.

Harry and Cho were standing off by the oak doors, smiling rather idiotically at each other. The two stood in line for a few minutes, then disappeared down the street, followed by a disguised and excited Lenalee, followed by a slightly less excited Allen and a thoroughly confused Lavi.

"_What," _he said, "in the _bloody world _are you two doing?"

"...Stalking Harry and Cho?" Allen asked hopefully.

"He really bothers me though," Lenalee sighed exasperately. "He and Ron are so-so, I don't know. Slow when it comes to things like this."

"So you're stalking him," Lavi stated more than asked.

"I'm just keeping an eye on things."

"And what are you doing, Allen?"

"Uh..-"

Surely he couldn't tell anyone about his mission.

"Things," Allen said.

"_Things."_

_"_Yes, things."

They followed Harry and Cho in silence for a while, staying back enough to make it seem as if they weren't following them, just going down the same path. After a while, however, it began to rain.

"Aw, crud," Lavi groaned.

"Look, they're going in to that store," Lenalee pointed out.

"Oh, I know that store," Allen muttered, rolling his eyes. "Madam Puddifoot's. Ginny once told me about it."

"From the looks of its laciness, I'd bet it's decorated for Valentine's Day," Lavi said. "Let's just go in."

"But won't it look strange if there's a threesome in a store like _that?" _Lenalee asked.

"Nah, it could be a couple and a guy waiting for his date-" Lavi suggested.

"Why are you suddenly so _serious _about this thing?" Allen cut in.

"It's interesting and fun!"

"...Let's just go in. Come on, Allen, Lavi-"

And thus they almost stumbled into the cozy coffee shop, and because Allen was the one she was dragging along, Lenalee forced him into a seat and sat down across from him, Lavi sitting down at the table next to them. Harry and Cho were sitting a few feet away, awkwardly, of course, especially compared to that Ravenclaw Quidditch player and his girlfriend.

"What can I get you, m'dears?" asked a stout, black haired woman, squeezing between tables to get to Allen and Lenalee.

"Er..." Allen said. "Two coffees, please. You're alright with coffee, Lenalee?"

"Sure," Lenalee said, but it seemed that she was still distracted. Catching each other's eye, both Lavi and Allen suppressed a sigh.

The woman, Madam Puddifoot, glanced at Lavi. "What about you, dear? Where is your sweetie?"

Looking very taken aback, Lavi blinked up at her. "Oh," he said after a moment. "Oh, um, we're meeting up here. I think she's a bit late, she said something about finishing up homework before coming up. She's, uh, er, really serious about studying..."

"Very nice," Allen whispered to him as Madam Puddifoot left for Harry and Cho's table. "That was very smooth, Lavi."

"Hey, I may be pretty popular but I've never had a lover thanks to Panda face," Lavi shrugged. "I couldn't really think of anything..."

Allen laughed a bit and watched Harry and Cho. Beside the two, the Ravenclaw Quidditch player Roger Davies and his girlfriend had begun kissing each other, and he also noticed that Harry looked nervous. Very nervous.

"This is _very _boring," Lavi complained after a few minutes, but Lenalee shushed them. "What are they talking about?"

"I don't know-"

"Most likely Umbridge," Allen said with a roll of his eyes. "What else would get those two- get anyone- to look so _gleeful?"_

_"_When a date goes really well?" Lavi suggested.

"Still-"

"Shh!"

Harry was speaking on another subject.

"Er...listen," he said to Cho, "d'you want to come with me to the Three Broomsticks at lunchtime? I'm meeting Hermione Granger there."

"_Huh?" _Lavi squeaked.

"You're meeting Hermione Granger? Today?" Cho asked Harry.

"Yeah. Well, she asked me to, so I thought I would. D'you want to come with me?" Harry replied. "She said it wouldn't matter if you did."

"Oh...well...that was nice of her," Cho said coolly.

Silence fell between the them, and Lenalee was looking vivid.

"How could he just do that to her?" she whispered angrily.

"He's going out with Cho _and _Hermione?" Lavi gasped.

Allen suppressed another roll of his eyes. "It's not a _date," _he told them both as he sipped his coffee. "She'd just had to talk to him about things. Things like the Ministry and"- he lowered his voice- "things about the Order and the truth of things. Like when Voldemort came back, for one. She told me about it the other day-"

"I thought, I thought _you'd _u-u-understand!" Cho's voice suddenly cried, and the three Exorcists snapped their heads up to see Cho sobbing at the table. Apparently, Harry and she had resumed their conversation again- and things weren't going well at all.

"I _need _to talk about it!" Cho continued through tears. "Surely you n-need to talk about it t-too! I mean, you saw it happen, d-didn't you?"

"Well-I have talked about it," Harry said quietly to her, "to Ron and Hermione, but-"

"Oh, you'll talk to Hermione Granger! But you won't talk to me! P-perhaps it would be best if we just...just p-paid and you went and met up with Hermione G-Granger, like you obviously want to!"

"Cho?"

"Go on, leave! I don't know why you asked me out in the first place if you're going to make arrangements to meet other girls right after me...How many are you meeting after Hermione?"

"Oh," Lavi and Allen said in unison.

"Jealousy?" Lenalee said with a sigh. "Gods..."

"It's not like that!" Harry said, and he chuckled.

Cho glared at him fiercely. "I'll see you around, Harry," she said and dashed out of the shop, sobbing, into the waterfall of a rainstorm.

"Cho!" Harry called, but she was already gone. Silence fell in the shop, and Harry slammed a Galleon down on the table before he followed her out the door.

Lavi gave a low whistle. Lenalee, said, with a dark look, "Let's go." After Lavi tossed a couple coins onto the confetti covered table, the three of them left, just to be drenched by the downpour.

* * *

Hello Readers,

First off, before I hope you all enjoyed the story (although I just already did), I am really sorry for taking- what?- 10 days or so to update. I just finished a book report and I have to admit, this is a pretty boring and short chapter, but I still hope you enjoyed it.


	36. Interview

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcist

Thirty-Six: Interview **

* * *

**

**Disclaimers**: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

"Are you_ sure _Harry wouldn't mind us being here?" Allen asked Lenalee nervously as she almost pushed him and Lavi into the Three Broomsticks. "Can't I at least take off the glasses?" 

"Yes, please," Lavi agreed with him, tugging at the hat he was wearing. "Who did you get this thing from? It's so...weird."

"Hermione made it. It's one of her best," Lenalee answered with an air of dismissal. "And yes, you can take them off. And no, Harry wouldn't mind."

"Hi Hagrid," Allen greeted, spotting the unmistakable giant figure of Hogwarts's gatekeeper.

"Yer," Hagrid replied grimly and turned to Harry, who Allen just noticed was sitting beside him. "In the same boat, you an' me, aren' we, Harry?" he asked.

"Er-"

"Yeah...I've said before...Both outsiders, like," Hagrid grunted. "An' both orphans. Yeah...both orphans."

Hagrid took a great swig from his tankard and glanced at the Exorcists who sat down across from him.

"What about you lot?" he asked. "Yer still Harry's age, aren' you? What about your family?"

Lavi shrugged, but Allen and Lenalee looked at each other darkly.

"Well," Lenalee began slowly, playing with her long hair. "I'm an orphan, too, my brother and I. Our parents were killed by Akuma, and I was taken to the Order because I was a correspondent of the Innocence. Komui is the only family I have now. But...I think I had it a lot easier than Allen." She mumbled the last part, glancing at the boy, who had a dreamy look on his face."

"Does this," Harry asked. "Does it have anything to do with the curse?"

Nobody answered him, unless the weary flickering of Lavi's eye meant anything significant. Lenalee seemed to think that talking about Allen's past (if she knew anything) was a bit rude, and Allen was gazing idly into space.

"Allen?"

"Uh?" the boy jumped, blinking rapidly. "Oh, sorry. Um...trauma. So, er- what?"

"We're talking about the past," Lenalee explained shortly.

"Oh," Allen murmured, looking at Harry and Hagrid for a moment. "Let's see..." He shook his hand, allowing his left sleeve to slide down his forearm, and he showed his wrinkled, blood red hand to the two wizards. "This arm."

"Er-"

"My birth parents abandoned me because of this unsightly arm, and I lived with Mana. I loved him dearly, but he died in an accident when I was twelve," Allen explained. "It was after that that I met my master Cross, and three years after that, I've been living at headquartes with the other Exorcists."

"Basically, everyone here could more or less be considered an orphan," Lavi summarized. "Most of us left on our own will, or had to leave behind our family to join the Order. More than half of the members are adults, so unlike Lenalee, who grew up in the Order, they had a choice- well, mostly."

Harry could only stare, and Hagrid sniffed, looking at all of the younger ones with a wistful look. His face was still battered and bruised (if not even more than the last time they'd seen him) and that gave it a more pitiful look.

"Makes a diff'rence, havin' a decent family," he said. "Me dad was decent. An' your mum an' dad were decent. If they'd lived, life woula bin diff'rent, eh?"

"Yeah...I s'pose," Harry agreed slowly and carefully.

"Family," Hagrid sighed. "Whatever yeh say, blood's important."

He wiped his eyes, where tears had trickled out of.

"Hagrid," Harry said, staring at the large man, "where are you getting all these injuries?"

"Eh? Wha' injuries?"

"All those!" Harry pointed, rather rudely, at Hagrid's face.

"Oh...tha's jus' normal bumps an' bruises, Harry. I got a rough job," Hagrid shrugged, and taking one last gulp from his tankard and draining it, he stood up, slamming it down on the table.

"I'll be seein' yeh, Harry..You guys too. Take care now..."

"Pitiful," Lavi said as Hagrid lumbered out of the pub, looking downcast and positively wretched. "That is one pitiful guy I see."

"Hm," Harry and Allen muttered in response when they heard a voice calling,

"Harry! Harry, over here!"

The voice belonged to Hermione, who was sittingwith the Ravenclaw girl, Luna, and a woman with lank hair that framed her face in an unkempt mess. The skarlet paint on her claw like nails was chipped, and her winged glasses had little holes that indicated missing accessories. None of the Exorcists recognized her.

"Who's that?" Lenalee asked Harry as the boy stood up from the table.

"Someone who I expected to be the last person Hermione would ever drink with," was Harry's reply. "Come on."

"You're early!" Hermione said to Harry when the boy and the Exorcists approached the table. "I thought you were with Cho, I wasn't expecting you for another hour at least!"

"Cho?" the woman asked with an air of sudden excitement. "A _girl?"_

"It's none of _your _business if Harry's been with a hundred girls," Hermione told her coolly when the woman began to rummage through her crocodile-skin handbag. "So you can put that away."

"Who're you anway?" Lavi asked, more out of curiosity than anything, peering at the woman with his one visible green eye.

"Rita Skeeter," the woman replied with a haughty air. "Journalist on the _Daily Prophet."_

_"_Ex," Harry added quickly, then turned to Hermione as he sat down. "What are you up to?"

"Little Miss Perfect was just about to tell me when you arrived," Rita said, sipping her drink. "I suppose I'm allowed to _talk _to him, am I?"

"Yes, I suppose you are."

Rita Skeeter turned to Harry and whispered in his ear, "Pretty girl, is she, Harry?" at which Lavi snorted upon hearing.

"One more word about Harry's love life and the deal's off and that's a promise," Hermione snapped.

"What deal?" Rita demanded. "You hacen't mentioned a deal yet, Miss Prissy, you just told me to turn up. Oh, one of these days..."

"Yes, yes, one of these days you'll write more horrible stories about Harry and me," Hermione rolled her eyes. "Find someone who cares, why don't you?"

"They've run on plenty of horrible stories about Harry this year without my help," Rita retorted. "How has that made you feel, Harry? Betrayed? Distraught? Misunderstood?"

"He feels angry, of course," Hermione answered for him. She sent a short glance at the confused Exorcists before continuing, "Because he's told the Minister of Magic the truth and the minister's too much of an idiot to believe him."

"So you actually stick to it, do you, that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back? You stand by all this garbage Dumbledore's been telling everybody about You-Know-Who returning and you being thesole witness-?"

"I wasn't the sole witness," Harry spoke at last. "There were a dozen-odd Death Eaters there are well. Want their names?"

"I'd love them," Rita breathed. She fiddled with her handbag again and pulled out an acid-green quill Allen thought he recognized from the quill shop back in October. "A great bold headline: _'Potter Accuses...'_ A subheading: _'Harry Potter Names Death Eaters Still Among Us._' And then, beneath a nice photograph of you: '_Distraught teenage survivor of You-Know-Who's attack, Harry Potter, 15, caused outrage yesterday by accusing respectable and prominent members of the Wizarding community of being Death Eaters...'"_

It was at this point that Lenalee and Allen gave a soft gasp in Harry's ear. Lavi had a knowing smirk on his face as he peered at Hermione. Rita had her quill raised halfway to her mouth before she lowered it and glared at the bushy haired girl.

"But of course," she drawled. "Little Miss Perfect wouldn't want that story out, would she?"

"As a matter of fact," Hermione replied sweetly, "that's exactly what Little Miss Perfect _does _want."

Harry and Rita stared at the girl in wonder. Luna, on the other hand, was smiling dreamily into space and stirring her drink as she sang "Weasley Is Our King" under her breath.

"You _want _me to report what he says about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?" Rita asked Hermione in a low voice.

"Yes, I do," Hermione nodded. "The true story. All the facts. Exactly as Harry reports them. He'll give you all the details, he'll tell you the names of the undiscovered Death Eaters he saw there, he'll tell you what Voldemort looks like now- oh, get a grip on yourself," she said, throwing a napkin across the table at Rita. The woman, reacting badly to the sound of Lord Voldemort's name, had splashed firewhiskey down her front and also on Allen's shoe. The white haired boy inwardly thanked himself for wearing his own boots.

Rita mopped herself and said, "The _Prophet _wouldn't print it. In case you haven't noticed, nobody believes his cock-and-bull story. Everyone thinks he's delusional. Now, if you let me write teh story from that angle-"

"We don't need another story about how Harry's lost his marbles!" Hermione snarled. "We've got plently of those already, thank you! I want him given the opportunity to tell the truth!"

'There's no market for a story like that."

"You mean the _Prophet _won't print it because Fudge won't let them."

Rita and Hermione glared at each other long and hard. Then, leaning across the table, Rita said in a brisk voice Allen heard Komui use whenever he was sending them out on missions: "Alright, Fudge is leaning on the _Prophet, _but it comes to the same thing. They won't print a story that shows Harry in a good light. Nobody wants to read it. It's against the public mood. This last Azkaban breakout has got people worried enough. People just don't want to believe You-Know-Who's back."

"So the _Daily Prophet _exists to tell people what they want to hear, does it?" Hermione scoffed.

Rita straightened up and raised her eyebrows. "The _Prophet _exists to sell itself, you silly girl," she said coldly.

"My dad thinks it's an awful paper," Luna said suddenly. Lavi, who was beside her, jumped so badly that he knocked into Allen. Luna ignored the boys and sucked on her cocktail onion as she peered at Rita with her wide, slightly mad eyes. "He publishes important stories that he thinks the public needs to know. He doesn't care about making money."

"I'm guessing your father runs some stupid little village newsletter?" Rita said mockingly. "'Twenty-five Ways to Mingle with Muggles' and the dates of the next Bring-and-Fly Sale?"

"No," Luna answered pleasantly, "he's the editor of_ The Quibbler."_

Rita gave a vulgar snort that made some people in the vicinity turn in alarm.

"'Important stories the public needs to know'?" she repeated in disbelief. "I could manure my garden with the contents of that rag."

"Well, this is your chance to raise the tone a bit, isn't it?" Hermione said to her. "Luna says her father's quite happy to take Harry's interview. That's who'll be publishing it."

Rita fell silent for a moment, then let out a whooping laugh.

"_The Quibbler!" _she cackled. "You think people will take him seriously if he's published in _The Quibbler?"_

"Some people won't," Hermione said indifferntly. "But the _Daily Prophet'_s version of the Azkaban breakout had some gaping holes in it. I think a lot of people will be wondering whether there isn't a better explanation of what happened, and if there's an alternative story available, even if it is published in a" -she glanced at Luna out of the corner of her eye, "in a- well, an _unusual _magazine- I think they might be rather keen to read it."

"Alright," Rita said, "let's say for a moment I'll do it. What kind of fee am I getting?" 

Luna was quick to answer. "I don't think Daddy exactly pays people to write for the magazine," she said. "They do it because it's an honor, and, of course, to see their names in print." 

Rita had the look of someone who was just slapped hard across the face. She rounded on Hermione angrily. "I'm supposed to do this _for free?" _she demanded.

"Well, yes," Hermione chortled. "Otherwise, as you very well know, I will inform the authorities that you are an unregistered Animagus. Of course, the _Prophet _might give you rather a lot for an insider's account of life in Azkaban..."

For a moment, Allen was afraid Rita might grab the umbrella in Hermione's drink and stick it up her nose. The journalist glared and glared, then said in a low voice, "I don't suppose I've got any choice, have I?"

"Daddy will be pleased," Luna said cheerfully.

"Okay, Harry?" Hermione asked. "Ready to tell teh public the truth?"

"I suppose," Harry muttered, watching Rita balance her quill on a piece of parchment.

"Fire away, then, Rita," Hermione said, fishing a cherry out of the bottom of her drink.


	37. Quidditch Discussions

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcist 

Thirty-Seven: Quidditch Discussions

* * *

**Disclaimers**: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

Due to a request in one of the reviews, I have decided to add recaps and previews from this chapter and on! 

**Recap**:

"I don't suppose I've got any choice, have I?"

"Daddy will be pleased," Luna said cheerfully.

"Okay, Harry?" Hermione asked. "Ready to tell the public the truth?"

"I suppose," Harry muttered, watching Rita balance her quill on a piece of parchment.

"Fire away, then, Rita," Hermione said, fishing a cherry out of the bottom of her drink.

* * *

"People are now going have to pick, eh?" Lavi asked mischievously as he followed Allen, Lenalee, and Harry out of the Three Broomsticks. Hermione and Luna hung back with Rita Skeeter, discussing final details about the interview. 

"Pick what?" Allen asked curiously.

"Choice one is that Harry is totally cuckoo-"

"-which is likely the most popular choice," Harry muttered.

"Choice two is that Harry is right after all and the Ministry's got big problems," Lavi finished.

"What is right is not always popular; what is popular is not always right," Lenalee said wisely.

"I'm sure there will be a lot of people who believe you, Harry," Allen assured. "It's just hard for them to be honest about it, especially people who are deeply influenced by the way the Ministry treats them."

"Yeah, if we weren't so chicken about the possibility of persecution, I would most likely be joining Fred and George with the anti-Umbridge jokes all the time," Lavi chortled. "Oh, but the other reason I don't do it is Komui and mission and Panda."

"Panda?" Harry repeated in confusion.

"His master," Allen shrugged. "He- er- kicks Lavi whenever he does something out of line."

"Yu finds it rather entertaining when I fly five feet," Lavi grumbled. "He's cruel, you know? Both of them, actually."

"He tried to burn Umbridge one day," Allen said with a chortle. "I stopped him, but if she does anything cruel I might just end up like you and George."

"Don't," Harry shook his head, remembering his life time ban from Quidditch. It made his stomach turn, but something hit him just then. "If you end up like me and George, what will you be getting banned from?"

"Hm?" Lavi raised an eyebrow. "Me, I dunno. I don't have much interest in anything but being Bookman and Exorcist. Oh, maybe girls. Allen would be eating, gambling, and being an Exorcist, right?"

"If I don't eat, I'll die," Allen said seriously. "I could survive without gambling, but then I'll be so deep in debts that I might get kicked out of society, which, I assure you, won't be a good thing. And if I'm not allowed to be an Exorcist, then it's either I go insane or you will have a harder time defeating the Earl."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You won't be getting banned from anything by Umbridge," he told them. "Maybe that Komui person, but not the magical government. You're none of their concern."

"Thankfully," Lavi sighed.

"So what do you want to do now?" Lenalee asked cheerfully. "It's still early in the day, why don't we walk around and have some fun? Chances are, we're going to be starting missions again soon."

"Yeah, let's do that!" Lavi exclaimed and wrapped his arms around Allen and Harry. "I'm in agreement with Lenalee. What about you two?"

"Alright," Harry said.

"Let's," Allen nodded.

And the four walked off, down the street, and it wasn't until he reached the boys' dormitories in Gryffindor Tower that Harry recalled the reason why he didn't spend the day with Cho Chang.

"Can't wait to see what Umbridge thinks of you going public," Dean Thomas said at dinner on Monday night. Sitting on the other side of Dean, Seamus Finnigan was (supposedly) having an eating contest with Allen, but Harry knew they were both listening.

"It's the right thing to do, Harry," Neville said with a slightly pale face. Lowering his voice, he said, "It must have been...tough...talking about it...Was it?"

"Yeah," Harry mumbled a reply, "but people have got to know what Voldemort's capable of, haven't they?"

"That's right," Neville nodded, "and his Death Eaters too...People should know..."

"Well, night," Dean said after a few minutes, and he, Seamus, and Neville left for the common room.

"How much did you eat, Allen?" Lavi asked.

"A fair amount."

"You call that a fair amount?" Hermione said in disbelief, gesturing to the several empty dishes and bowls nearby.

"Parasite type correspondents of the Innocence can easily eat ten times as much as a normal human," Lavi explained. "Hey look, there's Cho...Lenalee, I see your twin."

"She's not my twin!" Lenalee said heatedly as Harry's stomach gave an unpleasant flip.

"Oh, I forgot to ask you," Hermione said cheerfully, following Lavi's gaze, "what happened on your date with Cho? Hoe come you were back so early?"

"Er...well, it was..." Harry said in a nervous tone, subconsciously dragging a dish of rhubarb crumble toward him, "a complete fiasco, now you mention it."

And he launched into the story of what happened in Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. During his story, Lenalee and Hermione's eyes seemed to become colder and colder, until Lavi and Allen had to scoot away several inches to keep themselves warm.

"...so then," Harry finished after a few minutes, completely oblivious to the cold atmosphere around him, "she jumps up, right, and says, 'I'll see you around, Harry,' and runs out of the place!" He slammed down his spoon and looked at Hermione helplessly. "I mean, what was all that about? What was going on?"

Both girls sighed deeply. "Oh, Harry," Hermione said sadly. "Well, I'm sorry, but you were a bit tactless."

"Me, tactless?" Harry said loudly. "One minute we were getting on fine, next minute she was telling me that Roger Davies asked her out, and how she used to go and snog Cedric in that stupid tea shop- how was I supposed to feel about that?"

"Well, you see," Hermione said slowly and patiently, "you shouldn't have told her you wanted to meet me halfway through your date."

"But, but, but- you told me to meet you at twelve and to bring her along, how was I supposed to do that without telling her?"

"You should have told her differently," Lenalee put in.

"You should have said it was really annoying, but I'd made you promise to come along to the Three Broomsticks, and you really didn't want to go, you'd much rather spend the whole day with her, but unfortunately you thought you really ought to meet me and would she please, please come along with you, and hopefully you'd be able to get away more quickly" Hermione said. "And it might have been a good idea to mention how ugly you think I am too."

"But I don't think you're ugly," Harry said, blinking confusedly.

At that, Hermione and Lavi laughed.

"You're so adorably innocent, Harry," Lavi teased.

"You're worse than Ron," Hermione chuckled. "Well, no, you're not," she sighed as the boy in question came stomping into the Great Hall, splattered with mud and water and looking very disgruntled. "Look- you upset Cho when you said you were going to meet me, so she tried to make you jealous. It was her way of trying to find out how much you liked her."

"Is that what she was doing?" Harry asked irritably as Ron sat down heavily beside Lenalee and pulled every dish that held food toward him. "Well, wouldn't it have been easier if she'd just asked me whether I like her better than you?"

"Girls don't often ask questions about that," Hermione said.

"Well, they should!" Harry sighed dramatically. "Then I could've just told her I fancy her, and she wouldn't have had to get herself all worked up again about Cedric dying!"

"I'm not saying what she did was sensible," Hermione said as Ginny joined them, sitting next to Allen. "I'm just trying to make you see how she was feeling at the time."

"You should write a book," Ron grunted, "translating mad things girls do so boys can understand them."

"Yeah," Harry said.

Allen pulled out his wand and flicked it in the air, producing two towels. Dropping one on Ron's head, he placed the other on Ginny's. "So, how was Quidditch practice?" he asked.

"It was a nightmare," Ron said sourly, rubbing his head roughly with the towel.

"Oh come on," Hermione said. "I'm sure it wasn't that-"

"Yes, it was," Ginny said darkly. "It was appalling. Angelina was nearly in tears by the end of it."

"I'm going to go take a shower," Ron said after dinner, and he and his sister went the opposite way down the corridors.

"We'll meet you in the common room!" Allen called after them and ran to catch up with his friends.

In the common room, Harry and Hermione pulled out their piles of homework, one more reluctant to do so than the other. The Exorcists joined them at their table, each of them holding the file they'd been given at the beginning of the school term. None of them had ever read it to the end, but even now, none of them felt like reading it through. Allen and Lenalee were merely flipping through it, while Lavi made enchanted paper cranes that flew around the common room until Harry pointed out how distracting it was. It was around that time when Fred and George swooped down on them.

"Ron and Ginny not here?" Fred asked with a quick glance around as he and his twin squeezed into the chair on either side of Allen, effectively sandwiching the white haired boy between them. "Good. We were watching their practice. They're going to be slaughtered. They're complete rubbish without us."

"Come on, Ginny's not bad," George said fairly. "Actually, I dunno how she got so good, seeing as we never let her play with us..."

"She's been breaking into your broom shed in the garden since the age of six and taking each of your brooms out in turn when you weren't looking," Allen explained.

"Oh. Well- that'd explain it," George said an impressed air about him.

"Has Ron saved a goal yet?" Hermione asked over the top of Magical Hieroglyphics and Logograms.

"Well, he can do it if he doesn't think anyone's watching him," Fred said with a roll of his eyes. "So all we have to do is ask the crowd to turn their backs and talk among themselves every time the Quaffle goes up his end on Saturday." Standing up, he restlessly moved to the the window and stared out into the night world. "You know, Quidditch was about the only thing in this place staying for."

"You've got exams coming!"

"Told you already, we're not fussed about N.E.W.T.s," Fred said. "The Snackboxes are ready to roll, we found out how to get rid of those boils, just a couple drops of murtlap essense sorts them, Lee put us onto it..."

George yawned widely and leaned his head against Allen's. "I dunno if I even want to watch this match. If Zacharias Smith beats us I might have to kill myself."

"Kill him, more like," Fred corrected seriously.

"That's the trouble with Quidditch," Hermione said, "it creates all this bad feeling and tension between the houses."

"Hermione look up," Lavi said warningly.

"Well, it does!" Hermione said indignantly when she did as Lavi said and caught the hostile looks Harry, Fred, and George were throwing at her. "It's only a game, isn't it?"

"Hermione, you're good on feelings and stuff, but you just don't understand about Quidditch."

"Maybe not," Hermione replied darkly, "but at least my happiness doesn't depend on Ron's goalkeeping ability. Right, Lenalee?"

"Hmm?" Lenalee said, looking up from a doodle she and Lavi were making. Blinking, she shrugged. "Everyone has their values, I guess, and Quidditch isn't something that creates tension between houses. After all, it's a game, games are supposed to create bonds. Besides, it's fun, isn't it?"

"_She _understands!" George said truimphantly.

"But that doesn't make me feel better about Saturday," Fred said. "I swear on Merlin's beard, we're going to wish we never tried to kill Draco Malfoy, and _that's _saying something."

* * *

A/N: Because I want to finish the other story I am writing, it may be a while before I update on this one. My apologies! 


	38. Article

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcist

Thirty-Eight: Article

* * *

**Disclaimers**: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

**Recap:**

"Hermione, you're good on feelings and stuff, but you just don't understand about Quidditch."

"Maybe not," Hermione replied darkly, "but at least my happiness doesn't depend on Ron's goalkeeping ability. Right, Lenalee?"

"Hmm?" Lenalee said, looking up from a doodle she and Lavi were making. Blinking, she shrugged. "Everyone has their values, I guess, and Quidditch isn't something that creates tension between houses. After all, it's a game, games are supposed to create bonds. Besides, it's fun, isn't it?"

"She understands!" George said triumphantly.

"But that doesn't make me feel better about Saturday," Fred said. "I swear on Merlin's beard, we're going to wish we never tried to kill Draco Malfoy, and_that's_ saying something."

* * *

"He's drowning in the chorus," Lenalee explained when Allen cast a questioning look in Ron's direction. Allen hadn't gone to the Quidditch match, and neither had Lavi, because Hagrid had called them to his hut at the last minute. "It was so loud, I was wondering if you two might hear it too."

"We didn't," Lavi said, "but he looks pitiful. Like Krory when he first joined us- remember, Allen? He had a curtain of gloom around him."

"Yes," Allen nodded in agreement, deciding it better to let Ron mope.

Yawning, Lavi stretched his arms and followed with his eye as Ron stood up and walked into the boys' dormitories. "Let's wait five minutes, then I'm going to hit the hay. I'm beat. And my whole body is in pain."

Wincing, the white haired Exorcist grimaced. "We should've expected it, although, it being Hagrid that were helping out..."

"What were you guys doing?" Lenalee asked.

"Oh, nothing, just feeding some of his wild creatures. I swear they're worse than Panda."

The next morning came peacefully. Ron, Harry, and Hermione were still half asleep when the Exorcists left the common room for breakfast, and they three came in when the post owls were just arriving. Allen watched the birds with longing: he would never receive a mail from them, for he had no contact outside the castle walls, none that he could communicate with freely.

"Arg!" Lavi suddenly exclaimed from his seat next to Harry.

"Mnphah?" Allen said through a mouthful of potatoes he had yet to swallow. He glanced over at the redhead and was shocked to see five owls hovering over and crashing into him, trying to get to Harry. Before Allen had any time to make a comment, another seven owls landed on the table, knocking Lenalee's coffee onto his lap. "Ow!" Timcanpy fluttered around excitedly, occasionally being swatted by a wing or bumping into Fred and Ron's heads.

"What's going on?" Allen asked, grabbing the golem and diving under the owls to ask Lenalee, who was busy taking an envelope away from a barn owl.

"The interview with Rita Skeeter," she said quickly. "They're probably letters from readers. Here, could you grab that owl?"

"Alright," Allen said unsurely, unwrapping a package from the owl. "Should I read it?"

"Go ahead," Harry told him with a look of suppressed amusement. "Help yourself," he said to an eager looking Hermione as Luna, who'd waltzed over from the Ravenclaw table, smiled down at him proudly.

"This one bloke thinks you're off the rocker," Ron announced. He exchanged looks with Lavi. "Ah well..." they said, tossing away the letter.

"This woman recommends you try a good course of Shock Spells at St. Mungo's," Hermione grimaced and crumpled up the parchment.

"This one bloke looks okay, though," Harry said excitedly. "Hey, she says she believes me!"

"This one's in two minds," Fred, who'd joined in on the letter opening with great enthusiasm, said. Beside him, George was opening up his own letters. "Says you don't come across a mad person, but he doesn't really want to believe You-Know-Who's back so he doesn't know what to think now...Blimey, what a waste of parchment..."

"Here's another one you've convinced, Harry!" Allen exclaimed, and Hermione snatched the paper away from him.

"'Having read your side of the story I am forced to the conclusion that the _Daily Prophet_ has been treating you unfairly," she read. "Little though I want to think that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned, I am forced to accept that you are telling the truth...' Oh, this is wonderful!"

"Another one who thinks you're barking," Ron said, throwing another crumpled letter and hitting a first year's head behind him.

"But this one says you've got her converted, and now she thinks you're a real hero," Lavi announced. "She's even put in a photograph too- wow-"

"What is going on here?" a voice asked, falsely cheerful and sweet.

Allen looked up from the letter he was reading and saw Dolores Umbridge standing behind Fred and Luna, her toady eyes glaring down at them with as much suspicion as her large body could hold.

"Why have you got all these letters, Mr. Potter?" she asked.

"Is that a crime now?" Fred retorted loudly. "Getting mail?"

"Be careful, Mr. Weasley, or I shall have to put you in detention," Umbridge snapped. "Well, Mr. Potter?"

Harry paused, glancing down at the table and letters. Then, he said, "People have written to me because I gave an interview. About what happened to me last June."

"An interview?" Umbridge repeated in a high, thin voice. "What do you mean?"

"I mean a reporter asked me questions and I answered them," Harry replied. "Here," he added, throwing a copy of _The Quibbler _at her.

"When did you do this?" Allen heard Umbridge asked as he looked away to sip his coffee.

"Last Hogsmeade weekend," Harry replied.

"There will be no more Hogsmeade weekends for you, Mr. Potter," the teacher said after a silence heavy with rage. "How dare you...how could..." There was a pause. "I have tried again and again to teach you not to tell lies. The message, apparently, has still not sunk in. Fifty points from Gryffindor and another week's worth of detention."

"More pain medicine, Harry?" Allen asked politely as Umbridge marched away.

"Yeah," Harry nodded. "Thanks."

------------------------

"Twenty," Lavi said, tapping the wall of the corridor again as he waltzed beside Allen after lunch.

"What exactly are you counting, Lavi?" Allen asked him curiously, curling Timcanpy's tail around his finger idly. The golem fluttered by his head cheerfully, occasionally bumping his forehead affectionately.

"Look around, Allen," the Bookman-in-training nodded. "It's everywhere."

"Huh?" Allen blinked and glanced at the wall Lavi was pointing at. A notice was tacked up on it: yet another Ministry decree.

It read:

--By Order Of--

**The High Inquisitor of Hogwarts**

Any student found in possession of the magazine _The Quibbler_ will be expelled.

_The above is in accordance with _

_Educational Decree Number Twenty-seven._

Signed:

_Dolores Jane Umbridge_

HIGH INQUISITOR

Allen stared at the sign for a few moments, then smiled widely. He resumed walking down the hall, humming cheerfully as he continued playing with Timcanpy.

"What are you so happy about?" Lavi asked, catching up with him.

"Umbridge is playing in Hermione's hands," Allen told him. "She's got no clue."

"Explain," Lavi replied suspiciously.

"Lavi, what would you do if Bookman told you not to touch something?"

"I'd go touch it, of course! Why resist the temptation?"

Allen beamed at him. "Exactly."

By the end of the week, it was apparent that every student had read the article on Harry's interview. No matter which corner he turned or which classroom he stumbled into, Allen found himself surrounded by the buzzing conversations regarding Harry's story about what had happened between him and Lord Voldemort in June last year. Umbridge bustled about every which way, demanding students to turn out their books, scavenging around for any telltale signs of an issue of _The Quibbler. _It was futile effort, of course, for most students were steps ahead of her in concealing the magazine.

"Hey Allen," Lavi said to him sometime during Friday afternoon. "Did you hear that Professor Trelawney didn't predict Harry's early death? I think the world may end."

"That won't be good," Allen replied seriously. "But really? She created a miracle, did she? What did she say to him?"

"He'll die old and be Minister of Magic and have twelve kids. Imagine! Twelve kids! Think about how-"

"Shut up, you stupid rabbit," Kanda said at the moment, interrupting a cackling Lavi and glaring at a confused Allen. He raised an eyebrow at the latter. "Don't tell me you're _that_sheltered, Moyashi...damn."

"What was that about?" Allen asked as the samurai stomped away. Lavi, still giggling, shook his head and waltzed away.

"Hi Allen," a breathless voice said, and Cho Chang scurried past with a bright face. Even more confused than he already was, Allen walked down the hall and caught up with Harry, who looked very pleased about something. Allen guessed it had something to do with Cho, but didn't comment on it.

"Where are you headed to?" he asked the bespectacled boy.

"Transfiguration," Harry answered.

The two boys struggled through the ever-crowded corridor, talking about anything they could think of as they went. Allen realized that he hadn't much of a conversation with Harry in a long time, and was glad to have the chance to do so now.

"Hey," a voice said, and the two boys looked up to see Seamus Finnigan staring at Harry grimly.

"I just wanted to say," Seamus said, ignoring Allen, who was tactful enough to begin a conversation with a passerby first year. "I believe you. And I've sent a copy of that magazine to me mam."

"Er, thanks," Harry said, and bidding good-bye to Allen, he walked into McGonagall's class with Seamus, who was smiling slightly.

Later that afternoon, Allen and Lenalee were sitting in the library reading the weekly reports they received from Komui when they were approached by an excited Hermione and a grinning Harry.

"Hi guys," Hermione greeted breathlessly and sat down beside Lenalee. Turning to Harry, who'd seated himself across from her and next to Allen, she said, "And the best bit is, they can't contradict you, because they can't admit they've read the article!"

"Luna said her father's reprinting the article," Allen told them. "I heard that from Komui earlier. She was saying something about how bewildered her father was that the article was more popular than the one about the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks."

"They don't even exist," Hermione sighed.

"Fred and George were with Lavi earlier," Lenalee informed them. "Should we be worried?"

"No, they're just planing a celebration," Allen said.

"What for?"

"Harry, what else? The article is a holy item for the Gryffindors."

"Geez..." Harry said sheepishly.

"_I have been badly advised, it seems." He spoke coldly and menacingly, murderous intent hanging on his every syllable._

"_Master, I crave your pardon..." begged the man he stared down at. He was a trembling shadow on the cold ground, and the back of his head glimmered in the light from the only light source in the room, the single branch of candles._

"_I do not blame you, Rookwood," he told the man, and walked around the chair in the room, slowly yet gracefully, stopping when he was standing directly over the lowly figure. "You are sure of your facts, Rookwood?" he inquired._

"_Yes, My Lord, yes... I used to work in the department after- after all..." the man whimpered._

"_Avery told me Bode would be able to remove it."_

"_Bode could never have removed it, Master... Bode would have known he could not... Undoubtedly that is why he fought so hard against Malfoy's Imperius Curse..."_

"_Stand up, Rookwood," he ordered the man in the same wispy, cold tone._

_Rookwood stumbled over himself when he raised himself out of his kneeling position, but he kept his back hunched in a slight bow, but the candlelight shone on his face and threw the scars on his pockmarked face into relief. His eyes shone the most fear he'd ever seen on a human face, and they darted back and forth between the floor and his face._

"_You have done well to tell me this," he told Rookwood. "Very well... I have wasted months on fruitless schemes, it seems... But no matter... We begin again, from now. You have Lord Voldemort's gratitude, Rookwood..."_

"_My Lord... yes, My Lord," Rookwood gasped hoarsely in relief._

"_I shall need your help. I shall need all the information you can give me."_

"_Of course, My Lord, of course... anything..."_

"_Very well... you may go. Send Avery to me."_

_Rookwood backed away quickly, like a rat, bowing, and disappeared out of the room. Alone in the dimly lit room, he slowly spun around toward the wall. His eyes fell on a cracked and __dirty__ mirror, stained with age, hanging in the shadows. The reflection staring back at him was unfamiliar, yet frighteningly nostalgic. A chalk white __complexion and snake like eyes, staring, menacing... Lord Voldemort's eyes._

_He was Voldemort._

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

Author's Note:

Yes! I finally updated. It took me...20 days! (Wow.) But I fianlly updated, and I will be devoting myself to this story more form now on!


	39. Sacked

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcist

Thirty-Nine: Sacked

* * *

**Disclaimers**: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

**Recap:**

_Rookwood backed away quickly, like a rat, bowing, and disappeared out of the room. Alone in the dimly lit room, he slowly spun around toward the wall. His eyes fell on a cracked and __dirty__ mirror, stained with age, hanging in the shadows. The reflection staring back at him was unfamiliar, yet frighteningly nostalgic. A chalk white __complexion and snake like eyes, staring, menacing... Lord Voldemort's eyes._

_He was Voldemort._

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

Harry's terrible scream shocked everyone. Lavi, who had been lying on his back and reading, responded by giving a startled yelp and falling off of his bed. Allen jumped up and over his friend and dashed to Harry's bed, and he and Ron reached it just as Harry fell to the floor too and flailed around. 

Ron crouched beside the lump tangled in the red hangings and said loudly, "Will you stop acting like a maniac, and I can get you out of here!" He wrenched back the offending curtains, and Harry's face stared up at them, sweating and pale.

"Has someone been attacked again?" Ron asked as he and Allen pulled Harry up to his feet. "Is it Dad? Is it that snake?"

"No," Harry gasped, "everyone's fine."

"How's the scar?" Allen said, grimacing at Harry. He looked a wreck.

"Fine, but Avery isn't," Harry replied breathlessly. "He's in trouble... He gave him the wrong information... h's really angry..." He gave a groan and sank onto his bed, rubbing his scar. "But Rookwood's going to help him now..."

"You should calm yourself down first, Harry," Allen said, pulling out his wand and waving it slightly. A glass of water materialized in his hand, and he handed it to the still heavily-breathing boy.

"Thanks... but he... He's on the right track again..."

"What are you talking about?" Ron demanded in a frightened voice. "D'you mean... did you just see You-Know-Who?"

"I _was_ You-Know-Who," Harry corrected, staring at his own hands as if to make sure they were really his. "He was with Rookwood, he's on of the Death Eaters who escaped from Azkaban, remember? Rookwood's just told him Bode couldn't have done it..."

"Done what?" Lavi asked, appearing beside Allen.

"Remove something... He said Bode would have known he couldn't have done it... Bode was under the Imperius Curse... I think he said Malfoy's dad put it on him."

"Bode was bewitched to remove something?" Ron said. "But- Harry, that's got to be-"

"The weapon, I know," Harry said.

"Just how much do you guys_know?_" Lavi asked in a tone of exasperation. "We know what kind of connection you have to the guys in London and all, but don't you think they've got a lot more information than they should, Allen?"

"Hmm," Allen mumbled just as the dormitory door opened. Seamus and Dean came in, and Harry immediately sat properly on his bed.

"Did you say," Ron whispered now as Seamus and Dean began to dress, "that you _were_ You-Know-Who?"

"Yeah."

"Harry, you've to tell-"

"I haven't got to tell anyone," Harry argued with a voice of finality. "I wouldn't have seen it at all if I could to Occlumency. I'm supposed to be have leaned to shut this stuff out. That's what they want."

"By they, you don't mean the whole Order, do you?" Allen asked knowingly. "You're pointing at one person in particular..."

"Shut up," Harry told him bitterly. Allen wondered if Harry was damning him for grinding salt into his already open wound. The lack of communication with Dumbledore must be paining Harry more than he'd thought.

-------- --------

"Leeeeeenaaaaaleeee!" Lavi called in a sing-song voice to the girl standing at the other end of the hall. "Wait up!" Grabbing Allen and Kanda by the sleeves of their coats, he made a mad-dash toward her.

"Hi," Lenalee greeted shortly when they caught up. Turning to her comrades, she said, "I overheard Harry and Ron talking to Hermione. He had a vision?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it a_vision_, but close, yeah," Lavi said, leaning idly on Kanda, just to be swatted away irritably. "He did."

"Hermione was giving him quite a hard time," Lenalee sighed. "But she was right, I suppose. Harry's not supposed to be seeing any of those dreams. Occlumency and all..."

"With Snape," Lavi reminded her.

"Yes, with Professor Snape, but that's no excuse," Lenalee argued.

"That's where he is right now," Allen said. "In the dungeons, practicing Occlumency- Ah!"

He cried out as a woman ran straight into him, knocking him down on his knees. Sybill Trelawney paid him no heed and skidded to a halt several feet away as several trunks came tumbling down the staircase and hit Allen's head as they went.

Trelawney began to scream loudly, pointing in silence at a figure at the foot of the staircase. Students and teachers, hearing the commotion, came swarming out into the entrance hall, and Allen lost sight of Lenalee and Lavi as the crowd swallowed them. He was left alone in the midst of staring faces with the hysterical teacher, gazing into the toady face of Dolores Umbridge as she smirked down at Trelawney triumphantly.

"No!" Trelawney shrieked. "NO! This cannot be happening... It cannot... I refuse to accept it!"

"You didn't realize this was coming?" Umbridge asked her sweetly. "Incapable though you are of predicting even tomorrow's weather, you must surely have realized that your pitiful performance during my inspections, and lack of any improvement, would make it inevitable that you would be sacked?"

"You c-can't!" Trelawney cried, spilling tears from behind her glasses, "you c-can't sack me! I've b-been here sixteen years! H-Hogwarts is m-my h-home!"

Allen stared at the distressed teacher, glanced at Umbridge, and crawled over to Trelawney. Putting an arm around her shoulders, he looked down at her with soft eyes.

_My home is my workplace._ He understood Trelawney's words very well. It was the same for him, for his home was at the Black Order.

Umbridge acted as if Allen wasn't there. "It _was _your home," she sneered gleefully, "until an hour ago, when the Minister of Magic countersigned the order for your dismissal. Now kindly remove yourself from this hall. You are embarrassing us."

"No, no..." Trelawney continued to sob, now burying her face in Allen's coat. The white haired boy didn't feel comfortable in the position, but he didn't move away, either.

Dolores Umbridge was much too cruel.

"There, there, Sibyll," a voice said, and Minerva McGonagall knelt down beside them, patting Trelawney firmly on the back as she fished out a handkerchief and handed it to her. "Calm down... Blow your nose on this... It's not as bad as you think, now... You are not going to have to leave Hogwarts..."

She looked up slightly and sent Allen a stern look. However, it wasn't disapproving like all the other glares were. She looked as if to be thanking him silently.

"Oh really, Professor McGonagall?" Umbridge laughed. "And your authority for that statement is..?"

"That would be mine," a voice said, ringing loud and clear through the entrance hall.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

"That Walker boy was a very sweet one," Lavi heard Sibyll Trelawney say several days after the incident in the entrance hall. "He had every chance to get away from me, stay out of Dolores Umbridge's way, and yet, he stayed."

She was standing in the corridor with a few other teachers, and Lavi, who was around the corner from them, froze in his steps at the mention of his comrade. He knew, just like all of the other Exorcists, that a handful of Hogwarts's staff members did not approve of them.

"I would say it is because Professor Umbridge's authority does not affect he or his friends?" replied Snape's oily voice. "He does not have to worry himself about any detentions or expulsions."

"I do not think it is that, Severus," McGonagall disagreed. "I do not think a mere fifteen year old boy, especially one like him, will have the cunning to do such thing."

"I'd say he's just kind," Sprout commented. "Arystar Krory helps out in my classes. He is a good one, too. Those people are all kind."

"They are all young. And yet, they are _soldiers_," McGonagall said flatly. "How could it be, when nearly half of them are young enough to still be in school, they are all soldiers that fight something only God knows what!"

"Dumbledore said they come from another century," Snape told her. "That may be the difference. And they did not volunteer to become soldiers. They are Apostles, chosen by this existence called God."

"Hmph! If God be real, then he should know better than to drag children into his war!"

"And what, do you say, are we doing, when we have already involved Harry Potter in our war against the Dark Lord?"

"Severus-"

"We are doing the same thing, are we not? Allen Walker and Harry Potter_are_ the same age."

"Harry Potter was chosen-" Trelawney began.

"And so were we," Lavi whispered to himself. "We were chosen, too, by God."

Deciding to find another route back the the Gryffindor common room, Lavi silently left the scene.

* * *

Hello 

I know was (very) short, but this story is pretty much...a filler, I guess. It didn't really have much influence on the story from the DGM POV, so I didn't put much.. The next one (hopefully) will be longer, and I will probably be updating the other story too, since the prologue doesn't put much other than Allen dying (I'm so bad...)

Thanks for reading!

YuZuKi-sama


	40. Caught

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcist

Forty: Caught

* * *

**Disclaimers**: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

**Recap:**

"Harry Potter was chosen-" Trelawney began.

"And so were we," Lavi whispered to himself. "We were chosen, too, by God."

Deciding to find another route back the the Gryffindor common room, Lavi silently left the scene.

* * *

"This is so great" Lavi said in a drawling voice as he watched Allen's glowing Patronus fly around his head. "It's a dove, right? Suits you."

"Why?" Allen asked as the bird rested on his outstretched arm.

"It's the same color as you," the redhead replied.

"_What?_" Allen nearly yelled.

"Quit screaming, Moyashi," Kanda's voice snapped from behind him. Spinning on his heels, Allen glared at the Japanese Exorcist that was sitting on the floor with his Patronus, an elegant looking cat, curled up against his foot. He didn't seem to mind the presence, but it also might have been because he was so busy sending death glares at Allen.

"What is yours, Lavi?" Lenalee asked from where she was with Krory and Miranda. The small hummingbird Patronus fluttered busily over her head, chirping happily at Miranda's badger and Krory's tiny dog.

"I think it's a squirrel," Lavi replied, tugging at the furry lump clinging his arm.

"What are you doing, Harry?" Allen asked as said boy rushed past. "Oh, look, it's Dobby!"

"Dobby?" Lavi repeated in question.

Ignoring him, Allen peered worriedly at the house elf talking to Harry. "He doesn't look so happy. I wonder what happened."

"Harry Potter, sir..." Dobby the house elf squeaked frightfully. "Harry Potter, sir... Dobby has come to warn you... but the house elves have been warned not to tell..."

He ran headfirst at the wall, sending Kanda's cat hissing away in alarm and disappearing into a glowing mist as the samurai jumped to his feet, hand flying to Mugen's hilt. When Dobby bounced off the stone, cushioned by the eight or so hats on his head, several girls gave sympathetic squeaks, and Lavi looked as if be suppressing a laugh.

"What's happened, Dobby?" Harry asked as Allen grabbed the elf's tiny arm, keeping him out of reach of anything he might use to inflict pain upon himself (house elves were troublesome that way, always trying to hurt themselves whenever they felt they went against their masters' orders).

"Harry Potter... she... she..." Dobby stuttered before his free fist shot out to punch himself in the nose. Harry caught it, albeit a bit too late, and asked,

"Who's 'she', Dobby?"

Allen felt as if someone had dumped ice water down his back. He thought he knew who Dobby meant by 'she', and he knew Harry had the same feeling as well. Looking over his shoulder, Allen caught sight of his comrades, all with apprehensive frowns marring their usually calm faces.

"Umbridge?" Harry whispered, horrified, and Dobby nodded to confirm their fears. A split second later, he tried to bang his head against Harry's knees, but the boy held him at bay.

"What about her?" Allen asked quickly. "Dobby- she hasn't found out about this- about us- about the D.A.?"

Dobby didn't say anything, but the answer was apparent on his fear-stricken face.

"Is she coming?" Harry asked softly.

Suddenly, Dobby let out a horrible howl, fell the the floor, and began banging his head. "Yes, Harry Potter, yes!"

Behind Allen, Lavi let out a swear word he'd only heard once, from his master's drunken mouth, and Harry straightened up and looked around at the frozen D.A. members.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" Harry bellowed with a slightly panicked voice. "RUN!"

It was as if their leader's voice was an electric shock. As soon as those words left Harry's lips, all of the D.A. members made to run for the exit and burst out of the doors. As he watched, Allen hoped they had enough sense to try to find any kind of refuge and not attempt returning to their common rooms.

"Run, everyone!" Allen yelled at the crowd as, somewhere, Hermione was shrieking for Harry to leave as well. Lavi had dragged Kanda away somewhere to the back of the room to aid the smaller and weaker students in getting out, for most of the younger members were being pushed to the back by the older ones... He could see Krory and Miranda's heads bobbing over the rest of the crowd, trying to get them to leave in a bit more of an orderly fashion (all they did was bunch up at the door), and Lenalee must have been dragged out already, for she was nowhere to be seen...

"Go ahead of us, Allen!" Lavi yelled as he rushed past. "It won't help if all of us are caught in here, so go!"

"Allen, come on," Harry grunted and grabbed the boy's wrist. "Let's go."

He tried to resist, but he lost to Harry's surprisingly strong grip and was pulled out of the room. He saw Lavi give him a thumbs-up (a gesture he would have thought as lame in any other situation) and he turned around to run with Harry.

Most of the D.A. members had already hidden themselves by the time the two boys skidded around a corner. They didn't stop to think about where to go, but they both made for the boys' bathroom they saw ahead. They were almost there when-

"AARGH!"

"Harry?" Allen gasped, landing on his feet with a light tap as Harry fell spectacularly to the ground several feet away. He'd leaped into the air at the last moment, having had a bad feeling, but he didn't have enough time to warn Harry, who had been caught by someone's jinx... Behind them, someone was cackling merrily.

"Trip Jinx, Potter," Draco Malfoy said as he slipped out of a niche behind an ugly vase. "I'm surprised you dodged it, Walker, considering you look so dumb. Oh, well. Hey, Professor- PROFESSOR! I've got two!"

The fat figure of Dolores Umbridge came bustling around the corner, her eyes shining with glee. Upon sighting Harry and Allen, her wide smiled only got wider.

"it's him!" she exclaimed happily. "Excellent, Draco, excellent, oh, very good- fifty points to Slytherin! I'll take them from here... Stand up, Potter!"

Allen reached out his hand and helped Harry to his feet, both of them not taking their eyes off Umbridge, who grabbed both of them in a strong, viselike grip. Turning to Malfoy, she said, "You hop along and see if you can round up anymore of them, Draco. Tell the others to look in the library- anyone out of breath- check the bathrooms. Miss Parkinson can do the girls' ones- off you go- and you-"

She turned a pair of malicious eyes on Allen and Harry as Malfoy disappeared down the corridor. "You two can come with me to the headmaster's office."

"Tea?" Allen asked politely with a smile that convincingly real. "My, what a wonderful invite." He'd learned the sarcasm act from his devil of a master, Cross, and Lavi. He never thought he'd find it useful in anything other than poker games, but this seemed like an ideal time for him to use it...

Umbridge only sent a disgusted glare at him before dragging them down the corridor toward Albus Dumbledore's office. As they approached the stone gargoyle, Allen vaguely wondered if his comrades were able to escape. If they were caught, what would they do, he wondered- Kanda would probably yell and resist anyone trying to take him down, and Lavi would be the same. Krory and Miranda, he worried about, but Lenalee could outrun just about _anybody_ at Hogwarts...

"Fizzing Whisbee," Umbridge sang, and they were then shoved onto the moving staircase that lead up to the headmaster's office. When they reached the polished door, Allen made to knock, but Umbridge slapped his hand away and pushed open the door, striding in confidently without releasing her grip on the boys' arms. Allen was starting to lose the feeling in the tips of his fingers.

Dumbledore's office was crowded. The headmaster himself was sitting behind his desk with complete serenity while McGonagall stood as still and stiff as a statue beside him, her thin lips barely visible. The Minister was standing restlessly by Dumbledore's fireplace, sneering at the boys. A man Allen recognized as a member of the Order of the Phoenix and a large man with wiry hair stood on either of side of the door, and a rather familiar youth with bright red hair was hovering beside the wall, nearly shaking with excitement.

Other than Dumbledore and Umbridge, the only person Allen knew was Kingsley Shacklebolt, the man from the Order of the Phoenix, but he guessed the other three to be people from the Ministry of Magic. The small man must be the Minister, for he had the green bowler hat Ginny Weasley mentioned one time during their conversations. The large man must be from the same work unit as Kingsley, considering his size. And the red haired youth, now that he took a closer look, matched Fred and George Weasley's description of their older brother Percy.

"Well," Cornelius Fudge said, pleasure gleaming in his eyes as he watched Harry and Allen walk into the office. "Well, well, well..."

"Good evening, Minister," Allen greeted coldly as Harry sent the man a dirty glare.

"They were heading back to Gryffinfor Tower," Umbridge informed sounding breathless. No wonder, she must be excited about catching Harry Potter and Allen Walker, at last. "The Malfoy boy cornered him."

"Did he, did he?" Cornelius Fudge drawled, his eyes turning form Harry and onto Allen. "I must remember to tell Lucius. Well, Potter... I expect you to know why you are here? And who is this boy?"

Harry opened his mouth but no sound came out. Allen, deciding to answer his question first, opened his mouth and was surprised to find that his voice wasn't shaking like he'd expected it to be. "I am Allen Walker," he said.

"Yeh- no," Harry answered to Fudge's question, sounding awkward.

"I beg your pardon?"

"No," Harry repeated.

"You don't know why you are here?"

"No, I don't."

Allen stared at Fudge with wonder.

He had heard enough about the Ministry of Magic to visualize the Minister in his mind. He'd expected a man with expensive robes and an evil glint in his eyes. He hadn't expected, at all, the man who was speaking to Harry with sarcasm dripping from every word that left his lips.

"So you have no idea," the man was saying, "why Professor Umbridge has brought you to this office? You are not aware you have broken any school rules?" He seemed to be ignoring Allen on purpose.

"School rules?" Harry asked, apparently regaining his tongue. "No," he said.

"Or Ministry decrees?" Fudge raised his voice in anger.

"Not that I'm aware of."

"So it's news to you, is it," the Minister growled out, "that an illegal student organization has been discovered within this school? That an illegal group of criminals have been discovered hiding within this castle?"

"Yes it is," Harry answered, putting on an innocent face that Allen found very unconvincing.

Fudge looked ready to explode. "Rubbish!" he spat under his breath. "Potter, are you aware that this boy, standing beside you, is an Exorcist?" He pointed accusingly at Allen, whose wonder increased. How did he know about the Black Order?

"Excuse me-"

"I would never forget that Rose Cross on your coat, boy," Fudge interrupted him. "I've seen it while looking through our old documents, and there was one where you filthy people showed up... Oh, no, I will _never_ forget that cross." He glared at Harry. "Well, Potter?"

"I might have heard it slip somewhere," Harry replied, "but I do not see the connection between Allen being an Exorcist, me, and your discovering of those 'illegal' organizations. Sir."

"Exorcism is a crime," Fudge snapped. "Why, I wonder why one is still alive today... all Exorcists were banished from the world one hundred years ago, those useless men who talk rubbish about saving the world, murderers who take pleasure in using strange objects to blow people up!"

"That might be true, sir," Harry said, "but Allen hasn't blown anything up."

"Ho ho," said Fudge, turning to Allen now and looking him straight in the eye. "Haven't blown up anything, have you? Then I wonder, what was it that Professor Umbridge told me about you and your friends causing great damage to this castle?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I have a feeling that I still haven't blown up a person, unless Akuma happen to count in the category," Allen answered, feeling his hands shaking. He was glad his hair hid his ears lest Fudge would have been aware of his anger at the insult he'd spat out at them.

"I think, Minister," Umbridge said smoothly, her lips curled up in a smirk, "we might make better progress if I fetch our informant."

"Yes, yes, do," Fudge said, breaking his eye contact with Allen. Umbridge left, and he turned to smile wide at Dumbledore. "There's nothing like a good witness, is there, Dumbledore?" he asked.

"Nothing at all, Cornelius," Dumbledore replied shortly, gravely.

"This is really is the end of our mission," Allen said to Harry under his breath. "Despite the situation, I'm pathetic enough to say that I'm scared of what Kanda would do when he finds out I've been caught."

"You fear your friend more than you fear the consequences of being a discovered criminal?" Fudge sneered.

"We are _not_criminals!" Allen replied furiously.

"'We', you say, eh? There are more of you?"

"Don't be scared, dear, don't be frightened," Umbridge's voice said from somewhere behind the doors. The woman came walking into the office with a curly-haired girl Allen recognized as one of Cho Chang's friends. Her name- what was it?

"It's quite alright, now" Umbridge said to the girl. "You have done the right thing. The minister is very pleased with you. He'll be telling your mother what a good girl you've been." She lifted her toady face and said, "Marietta's mother, Minister, is Madam Edgecombe from the Department of Magical Transportation. Floo Network office- she's been helping us police the Hogwarts fires, you know."

"Jolly good, jolly good!" Fudge said approvingly. "Like mother, like daughter, eh? Well, come on, now, dear, look up, don't be shy, let's hear what you've got to- galloping gargoyles!"

"Genius, Hermione, _genius_," Allen heard Harry said under his breath, and he too had to hide a surprised yet amused smile. Marietta Edgecombe's face was covered with purple pustules that spelled out the word "SNEAK" in a very noticeable fashion, right across her nose and cheeks.

"Never mind the spots now, dear," Umbridge was saying to Marietta, who had given a wail and hid her face with her robes. "Just take your robes away from your mouth and tell the Minister-" But Marietta only gave another wail and shook her head.

"Oh, very well, you silly girl, _I'll _tell him. Well, Minister, Miss Edgecombe came to my office shortly after dinner this evening and told me she had something she wanted to tell me." And thus, she proceeded to tell a long tale about Marietta's telling her about eh meeting, and how Hermione's hex had come into operation, and how she couldn't get anything else out of Marietta.

"Well, now," said Fudge when Umbridge was finished. "It is very brave of you, my dear, coming to tell Professor Umbridge, you did exactly the right thing. Now, will you tell me what happened at this meeting? What was it's purpose? Who was there?"

He receive no answer other than a shake of the girl's head.

"Haven't we got a counterjinx for this? So she can speak freely?"

"I have no yet managed to find one," Umbridge said grudgingly, glaring at Allen and Harry as if it was their fault. "But it doesn't matter if she won't speak, I can take up the story from here.

"You will remember, minister, that I sent you a report back in October that Potter had met a number of fellow students in the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade-"

"Even if he did go there, it's still within school grounds, _Professor,_" Allen said, understanding for the very first time why his master enjoyed this thing called 'sarcasm' so much.

"And what is your evidence for that?" McGonagall demanded.

"I have testimony from Willy Widdershins, Minerva, who happened to be at the bar at the time. He was heavily bandaged, it is true, but his hearing was quite unimpaired," Umbridge smirked. "He heard every word Potter said and hastened straight to the school to report to me-"

"Oh, so _that's_ why he wasn't prosecuted for setting up all those regurgitating toilets! What an interesting insight into your justice system!"

"Blatant corruption!" cried a wizard sitting in the portrait behind Dumbledore's head. "The Ministry did not cut deals with petty criminals in my day, no sir, they did not!"

"Thank you, Fortescue, that will do," Dumbledore said quietly.

"The purpose of Potter's meeting with these students was to persuade them to join an illegal society whose aim was to learn spells and curses the Ministry has decided are inappropriate for school-age-"

"Illegal?" Allen repeated, as Dumbledore said, "I think you'll find yourself wrong there, Dolores."

"Oho!" Fudge exclaimed. "Yes, do let's hear the latest cock-and-bull story designed to pull Potter out of trouble! Go on, then, Dumbledore- Willy Widdershins was lying, was he? Or was it Potter's identical twin in the Hog's Head that day? Or is there the usual simple explanation involving a reversal of time, a dead man coming to life, and a couple of invisible dementors?"

"Oh, very good, Minister, very good!" Percy Weasley laughed heartily.

"Excuse me, sir, Minister," Allen suddenly said, sending Dumbledore an apologetic look that was dismissed with a small smile, "but for your information, traveling through time _is_ possible, dead men can come back to life- although with a very dreadful consequence- and I'm sure Harry was not lying about any dementors."

"Dead men coming to life- those Akuma things I've read about in the document, is it?" Fudge demanded.

"I would be lying if I said anything otherwise, sir. I have been seeing them ever since I was twelve, and I am sure I haven't dreamed up the past three years," Allen said.

"Cornelius," Dumbledore said, and the minister spun on his heels to face the headmaster. "I do not deny- nor, I am sure, does Harry- that he was in the Hog's Head that day, nor that he was trying to recruit students to a Defense Against the Dark Arts group. I am merely pointing out that Dolores is quite wrong to suggest that such a group was, at that time, illegal. I am sure Allen has noticed that as well. If you remember, the Ministry decree banning all student societies was not put into effect until two days after Harry's Hogsmeade meeting, so he was not breaking any rules in the Hog's Head at all."

A long silence followed those words, then Umbridge recovered.

"That's all very fine, Headmaster," she said. "But we are now nearly six months on from the introduction of Educational Decree Number Twenty-four. If the first meeting was not illegal, all those that have happened since most certainly are."

"Well, they certainly _would_ be, if they _had_ continued after the decree came into effect. Do you have any evidence that these meetings continued?"

As the old man spoke, Allen's instinct told him to glance behind himself at Kingsley. The man had his wand out, pointed at either Umbridge or Marietta. He seemed to whisper something Allen couldn't hear, then his wand disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Catching Allen's eye, he gave a small nod. The boy looked back at Dumbledore with a bit of hope and confusion spinning in his head.

"Evidence?" Umbrige repeated gleefully. "Have you not been listening, Dumbledore? Why do you think Miss Edgecombe is here?"

"Oh, can she tell us about six months' worth of meetings?" Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "I was under the impression that she was merely reporting a meeting tonight."

"Miss Edgecombe, tell us how long these meetings have been going on, dear," Umbridge coaxed. "You can simply nod or shake your head, I'm sure that wont make the spots worse. Have they been happening regularly over the last six months?"

_This is it,_ Allen thought grimly. If Marietta had sold them out once, why would she not sell them out again? He stared at Marietta, preparing himself for when she would nod her head-

He would most likely be arrested, along with his comrades, and Harry, along with all the rest of the D.A. members, would probably be expelled. Allen sighed, wishing, more than ever, that he hadn't signed up for this mission when Komui told them about it half a year ago. Why, oh why...?

"Just nod or shake your head, dear," Umbridge said gently.

Marietta was staring in horror at the floor, and Allen glanced at her eyes, seeing something strange. They were oddly blank.

_Why is that? They looked more frightened just a minute ago-_

"Well, dear?" Umbridge said.

Marietta's eyes flickered back and forth between the many people standing around her in the room. Then, to everyone's amazement, she shook her head from side to side.


	41. Explosion

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Forty-one: Explosion

* * *

**Disclaimers**: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

**Recap:**

"Just nod or shake your head, dear," Umbridge said gently.

Marietta was staring in horror at the floor, and Allen glanced at her eyes, seeing something strange. They were oddly blank.

_Why is that? They looked more frightened just a minute ago-_

"Well, dear?" Umbridge said.

Marietta's eyes flickered back and forth between the many people standing around her in the room. Then, to everyone's amazement, she shook her head from side to side.

* * *

The occupants of the room stood in complete silence for a few long moments, all of them staring at the curly-haired girl who had just shaken her head. 

Allen and Harry exchanged looks of utter shock and disbelief, and detected a bit of relief in each other's eyes. Neither of them could guess what happened. Hadn't Marietta Edgecombe sold them out? So why did she, just now, deny that they had been doing anything that went against the school rules?

Dolores Umbridge, their insufferable High Inquisitor, came out of her silence as she glanced between the girl beside her and the man by the fireplace, Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic.

"I don't think you understood the question, did you, dear?" she asked Marietta testily.

"I would have thought her meaning was quite clear," said McGonagall, who was looking at Umbridge scornfully. Turning to Marietta, she said, "There have been no secret meetings for the past six months. Is that correct, Miss Edgecombe?"

Marietta nodded.

"But there was a meeting tonight!" Umbridge declared, glaring at Harry and Allen accusingly. "There was a meeting, Miss Edgecombe, you told me about it, in the Room of Requirement! And Potter was the leader, was he not, Potter organized it, Potter – _why are you shaking your head, girl?_"

"Well, usually when a person shakes their head," McGonagall sneered, "they mean 'no.' So unless Miss Edgecombe is using a form of sign language as yet unknown to humans-"

"Ah-"

That moment, Umbridge roughly grabbed Marietta by the shoulders and began to shake her back and forth very hard. However, she jumped back a split second later, waving her hand as if she'd received a violent electric shock.

Dumbledore was on his feet, wand raised, looking angry for the first time. "I cannot allow you to manhandle my students, Dolores," he said quietly.

"You want to calm yourself, Madam Umbridge," Kingsley said slowly. "You don't want to get yourself into trouble now.

"No," Umbridge snapped breathlessly. "I mean, yes- you're right, Shacklebolt- I- I forgot myself."

Allen watched Marietta, who was still standing where Umbridge let her go. Once again, he noticed her oddly glazed eyes, and remembered Kingsley's strange actions. Maybe...

"Dolores," Fudge with a tone of forced authority, "the meeting tonight- the one we know definitely happened-"

"Yes," the Inquisitor said,, straightening her back, "yes... well, Miss Edgecombe tipped me off and I proceeded at once to the seventh floor, accompanied by certain _trustworthy _students, so as to catch those in the meeting red-handed. It appears that they were forewarned of my arrival, however, because when we reached the seventh floor they were running in every direction. It does not matter, however. I have all their names here, Miss Parkinson ran into the Room of Requirement for me to see if they had left anything behind... We needed evidence and the room provided..."

"Oh Gods," Allen whispered, and he knew only Harry could hear him.

"The moment I saw Potter's name on the list, I knew what we were dealing with," Umbridge said to Fudge softly, showing him the list of D.A. members Hermione had come up with.

"Excellent," Fudge breathed. "Excellent, Dolores. And... by thunder... See what they've named themselves?"

He triumphantly held up the list to Dumbledore.

"_Dumbledore's Army._"

A frozen silence followed: Dumbledore looked unable to speak, as if he' finally lost... and then, he looked up smiling.

"Well, the game is up," he shrugged lightly. "Would you like a written confession from me, Cornelius- or will a statement before the witnesses suffice?"

"What?" Allen said, his voice unnaturally high-pitched. _What was Dumbledore _thinking_? He couldn't do this-_

"Statement?" Fudge stuttered. "What- I don't-?"

"Dumbledore's Army, Cornelius. Not Potter's Army._ Dumbledore's Army._"

"But- but-"

"You can't, Professor!" Allen gasped, but he was shoved backward by a vivid looking Umbridge. Fudge, whose face blazed a sudden understanding, gave a yelp as he jumped and accidentally stepped into the fireplace. "You?" he whispered harshly, stomping on the hem of his cloak to extinguish the flame.

"That's right."

"You organized this?"

"I did."

"You recruited these students for- for you army?"

"Tonight was supposed to be the first meeting," Dumbledore nodded. "Merely to see whether they would be interested in joining me. I see now that it was a mistake to incite Miss Edgecombe, of course."

Marietta nodded, and Fudge glanced from her to Dumbledore, his face turning red with excitement before he exclaimed:

"Then you _have_ been plotting against me!"

"That's right."

"NO!" Harry yelled, but Allen placed a hand on his shoulder. The white haired boy rubbed his head where he hit it when Umbridge had pushed him. He saw several Timcampys fluttering around him. What a perfect time to be dizzy...

"Harry, he'd trying to protect you," he said. "I don't agree with it, either, but he _has_ to do it-"

"No- Professor Dumbledore!" Harry gasped, ignoring Allen.

"Be quiet, Harry, or I am afraid you will have to leave my office," Dumbledore said serenely.

"Yes, shut up, Potter!" Fudge snapped. He looked insane and hysterical as he stared wide-eyed at Dumbledore. "Well, well, well- I came here tonight expecting to expel Potter and instead-"

"Instead you get to arrest me. It's like losing a Knut and finding a Galleon, isn't it?"

"Weasley! Weasley, have you written it all down, everything he said, his confession, have you got it?" Fudge cried.

"Yes, sir, I think so, sir!" Percy Weasley spoke for the first time, his nose splattered with ink.

"The bit about how he's been trying to build up an army against the Ministry, how he's been working to destabilize me?"

"Yes, sir, I've got it, yes!"

"Very well, then. Duplicate your notes, Weasley, and send a copy to the_Daily Prophet _at once. If we send a fast owl we should make the morning edition!" Fudge ordered, and as Percy disappeared out of the office, slamming the door behind him, the Minister rounded on Dumbledore. "You will not be escorted back to the Ministry, where you will be formally charged and then sent to Azkaban to await trial!"

"Ah, yes," Dumbledore sighed. "Yes, I thought we might hit that little snag."

"Snag? I see no snag, Dumbledore!"

"Well, I'm afraid I do."

_Fugitive_, Allen muttered in his head.

Everything else happened in a blurry flash, as Allen's head was still fuzzy from its crash against the wall from earlier. He only remembered pulling Harry to the floor with McGonagall and Marietta beside him, and then, the people of the Ministry were all unconscious on the ground, and Dumbledore was looking down at them kindly.

"Are you all right?" the old man asked.

"Yes!" McGonagall answered, standing up and dragging Harry and Marietta with her.

"Unfortunately, I had to hex Kingsley too, or it would have looked very suspicious. He was remarkably quick on the uptake, modifying Miss Edgecombe's memory like that while everyone was looking the other way- thank him for me, won't you, Minerva?"

"Professor-" Allen began.

"Now, they will all awake very soon and it will be best if they do not know that we had time to communicate- you must act as though no time has passed, as though they were merely knocked to the ground, they will not remember-"

"Where will you go, Dumbledore?" McGonagall asked. "Grimmauld Place?"

"Oh no, I am not leaving to go into hiding," Dumbledore answered. He looked at Allen. "I think I may have to apologize to you, Allen, and Miss Lenalee. I will be taking Komui with me- or, he may already have gone."

"Komui?" Allen repeated.

"I will be trusting all of you. Fudge will soon wish he'd never dislodged me from Hogwarts, I promise you..."

"Professor Dumbledore..." Harry said.

"Listen to me, Harry, you must study Occlumency as hard as you can, do you understand me?" Dumbledore cut in. "Do everything Professor Snape tells you and practice it particularly every night before sleeping so that you can close your mind to bad dreams- you will understand why soon enough, but you must promise me-"

"He's stirring," Allen whispered, pointing at the man called Dawlish.

"Remember- close your mind- you will understand," Dumbledore said, gripping Harry's wrist to emphasize his point before his phoenix, Fawkes, swooped down. He raised both his hands, grabbed the bird's tail, and in a flash of light-

Both of them were gone.

- - -

"Lenalee," Allen whispered to the girl beside him.

"He could have told me," Lenalee sniffed, rubbing her eyes. "I was just... really scared when Kanda told me he vanished in the middle of the night."

It was the day after Dumbledore's disappearance and the appointment of Headmistress Dolores Umbridge. Notices had gone up overnight, but everyone at the school knew about the incident in Dumbledore's office, which resulted in Harry being chased everywhere he went by people seeking a firsthand account. With Allen's advice, the Exorcists had all hidden their coats in the deepest area of their respective trunks, and were now wearing clothes loaned by the Weasleys. The only person reluctant to borrow anything was Kanda, but Allen had convinced him that it was for the best that they didn't get arrested. Komui's disappearance had, at first, caused a bit of worry for the Exorcists, but when Allen explained the events of the night before in Albus Dumbledore's office, they had all pulled themselves together and gathered outside the castle nearby the Dark Forest.

"Look, there's Lavi," Miranda said, pointing to a red haired figure running toward them.

"Malfoy's docking points from the houses," Lavi announced, coming to a stop and sitting beside Allen on a fallen log. "He's part of the Inquisitorial Squad."

"The _what?_" Allen asked.

"Special students chosen by the Ministry who have special privileges," Lavi explained. "Figures, don't it? He and some other Slytherins are docking points from all the other houses. That's abusing authority, bit time!"

"That Montague was one of them until break," Kanda said from where he sat on a branch overhead.

"Was?" Lenalee repeated, rubbing her eyes again.

"Fred and George Weasley shoved him into the Vanishing Cabinet on the first floor. I saw them."

"That could get them in serious trouble!"

"I don't think they care," Allen told Lenalee. "Speaking of the twins, they mentioned something about a great show during lunch."

"Do you think we should go in and make sure they don't do anything_too _serious?" Lavi asked.

"Number one rule is to stay out of trouble," Allen told him. "We could go, but it's best we stay out of it if we don't want the wizard government after our hides."

The Exorcists agreed and returned to Hogwarts castle, all deep in thought as they tried to their greatest extent to imagine what the Weasley twins had planned... surely it was something to get on Dolors Umbridge's nerves.

"Anyone hungry?" Lavi asked, and without replying, they all entered the Great Hall. Just when they reached the Gryffindor table to grab some food, a deafening roar shook the earth.

_BOOM!_

"Three guesses what that was," Kanda muttered as students leaped to their feet and dashed for the doors.

"Something that weighs a ton dropping to the floor in the entrance hall," Allen suggested.

"Someone using a big hammer to smash the walls in?" Krory asked.

"_Fireworks!"_ Lavi cheered.

"They're beautiful," Miranda said as she followed an excited Krory out of the Great Hall. Allen, Lenalee, Kanda, and Lavi trailed after them, listening for the voices they would soon start to hear. Then, they caught it, barely audible behind the cheering students and the loud bangs and booms of exploding lights:

"Hurry, Filch, hurry! They'll be all over the school unless we do something- _Stupefy!_"

"Don't Stun them, Filch!"

"Right you are, Headmistress!"

"Idiots," Lavi snickered, and grabbing Allen by the wrist, he dragged the white haired boy over to a tapestry. Ducking behind it, he opened a hidden door and walked in to find Fred, George, and Harry. All three boys had the mirthful faces of having just stopped laughing.

"Amazing, my friends, _amazing_," Lavi congratulated, patting the twins' backs.

"That was phase one," Fred said. "Phase two will be better, not to worry."

"What will you do?" Allen asked.

"Oh, that'll be a surprise," George told him. "The opening ceremony for the rest of our lives."

* * *

Sorry for taking so long to update... This is kind of short, but I really had no idea what to write anymore...(shoots self) 


	42. Plans

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Forty-two: Plans

* * *

**Disclaimers**: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

**Recap:**

"Idiots," Lavi snickered, and grabbing Allen by the wrist, he dragged the white haired boy over to a tapestry. Ducking behind it, he opened a hidden door and walked in to find Fred, George, and Harry. All three boys had the mirthful faces of having just stopped laughing.

"Amazing, my friends, _amazing_," Lavi congratulated, patting the twins' backs.

"That was phase one," Fred said. "Phase two will be better, not to worry."

"What will you do?" Allen asked.

"Oh, that'll be a surprise," George told him. "The opening ceremony for the rest of our lives."

* * *

The next few days passed in peace for the Exorcists. The Weasley twins' fireworks kept Dolores Umbridge busy for the rest of that afternoon, and the next day, Harry had gotten himself into a bit of trouble of Severus Snape and a Pensieve, but otherwise, there was nothing that troubled Allen and his comrades. What Allen found strange was the story Harry told him and Lavi about what he'd seen in the Pensieve. 

"It's strange, there was another kid with them," Harry said. "He looked really familiar, but I couldn't place a finger on it. His back was to me the whole time, and even when my dad started to make fun of Snape, the kid did nothing. He's just sitting there, smiling, and his light colored hair – it was really really blond, almost _white_ – was covering his eyes, and I couldn't see his face well. From what I've heard, there were only four people in the group of friends... my dad, Sirius, Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew."

"Maybe Allen traveled time again," Lavi snickered, nudging the white haired boy in the side. "Like we did. Maybe the thing broke again, eh?"

"Please, don't joke around, Lavi," Allen sighed in exasperation. "Although that sounds very interesting, I'd rather travel back in time to where we originally came from."

"He didn't talk at all, either," Harry continued. "So I don't have a clue what he sounds like. But... it's obvious that my dad got along with him, and so did Sirius. The two of them would talk to him a lot, and would shrug when he didn't say anything."

"I'll bet it's bothering you?" Allen asked.

"Yeah," Harry nodded.

"It's obviously bothering Snape, though," Lavi said. "Isn't your traveling in his past the reason why he kicked you out of Occlumency--?"

"Shh!" Harry hissed as Hermione came walking over to them. "Don't let her know. Just.. just say Snape reckons I'm good enough-"

"Hi, Harry," Ron said as he and Hermione sat down. "Wow, Harry, I know it happens all the time, but you just look really _terrible_."

"Thanks, Ron," Harry muttered. "I'm sure I look very lovely."

"When's your next Occlumency lesson?" Hermione asked, taking out three pieces of parchment. She was currently drawing up study schedules for Harry, Ron, and herself for over the Easter holidays. Ron had been shocked to realize they only had a few weeks before their exams, and that also put into contrast how little time the Exorcists had left until they were to bid good-bye to their friends.

"I don't have them anymore," was Harry's short reply to Hermione's question.

"Really?" Ron asked with a tone of surprise.

"Yeah. Snape says I'm done, so he sent me out without giving me the next date," Harry said.

"But why haven't you got Occlumency anymore?" Hermione asked.

"I've _told _you. Snape reckons I can carry on by myself now I've got the basics..."

"So you've stopped having funny dreams?" Hermione said dubiously.

"Pretty much."

"Well, I don't think Snape should stopped unless you're absolutely sure you can control them!" Hermione insisted. "Harry, I think you should go back to him and ask-"

"No," Harry said flatly. "Just drop it, Hermione, okay?"

"Anyway, Ron," Lavi said, changing the subject as he watched Hermione tap the squares on Ron's study schedule. "How can that come as a shock? You knew you've had exams coming along all year... Why are you so shocked _now?_"

"I dunno..." Ron muttered, "there's been a lot going on..."

"Well, there you are, Ron," Hermione said, handing him his schedule.

Allen peered at the paper over the redhead's shoulder and said, "If you follow that you should do fine."

"You've given me an evening off every day!" Ron exclaimed at Hermione.

"That's for Quidditch practice," Hermione said flatly.

The happy look faded from Ron's face, and he said gloomily, "What's the point? We've got about as much chance of winning the Quidditch Cup this year as Dad's got of becoming Minister or Magic..."

"What's wrong, Harry?" Hermione asked, already moving onto a different subject. Harry was staring off blankly at the opposite wall of the common room while Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, was begging him to scratch his ears.

"What?" Harry blinked, responding more quickly than expected. "Nothing..."

Picking up his copy of _Defensive Magical Theory_, he opened it up and pretended to read. Crookshanks sunk away, giving up on the vain attempt to get Harry to entertain him, and Hermione watched him for a few seconds before saying tentatively,

"I saw Cho earlier, and she looked really miserable too... Have you two had a row again?"

"Wha – oh yeah, we have," Harry said.

"What about?"

"That sneak friend of hers, Marietta," Harry said bitterly.

"Yeah, well, I don't blame you!" Ron said angrily, and he added, "If it hadn't been for her..." before going on to rant about Marietta Edgecombe. Harry occasionally looked angry, nodded, and said words of agreement, but Allen and Lavi could obviously tell that he wasn't paying any attention at all. They, of course knew what he was really thinking about.

On the last day of the Easter holiday, Lavi disappeared into Hogsmeade and came back several hours later clutching happily onto three large bags of Honeydukes candy. Allen and Lenalee were left to wonder why he came back from a visit to the Ravenclaw table during dinner with a large bump on his head, but when Lavi handed them large Easter egg chocolates and complained about how Kanda could have said thank you, at the least, it was apparent to them who had hit the Bookman-in-training.

"Come on, Lavi," Lenalee told him as he sat back down at the Gryffindor paper, "you _know_ Kanda hates sweets!"

"He could have accepted them, at the least!" was Lavi's desperate reply as he blew his nose on Allen's shoulder.

"Hey! What are you doing, Lavi?" Allen cried out. "...Huh? What's this pamphlet?"

"Career advice," Lavi said, picking up the papers in front me him as well.

"Please elaborate," Allen said.

" 'All fifth years will be required to attend a short meeting with their Head of House during the first week of the Summer term, in which they will be given the opportunity to discuss their future careers. Times of individual appointments are listed below,'" Lavi said, recalling the notice on the Gryffindor notice board.

He shrugged.

"Well, that's that," he chortled, "just like in any other war. No matter what kind of fight is happening to move their history, the everyday life of common folks go on no matter what. Kids find jobs and get married and have kids and the same thing happens again. It's a cycle. This year, we'll be seeing Harry and Ron and Hermione get advice on what jobs they should take in the future.

"That brings us back to the conversation I had with Fred and George the other day," he continued. "They asked me what each of us would want to be if we weren't Exorcists, and even before I could answer, they suddenly came up with this weird story on what each of us would have been. They mentioned you would be a teacher, Lenalee, and I agree; you're smart enough."

"Why, thank you, Lavi," Lenalee said, a hue of pink staining her cheeks as she smiled.

"What kind of jobs do they have in the magical world, anyway?" Allen said curiously as he read through a bright pink-and-orange pamphlet. "Muggle Relations, huh?"

"Anything sound interesting to you?" Ron finally asked from his spot beside Allen. When the white-haired boy shook his head, he said, "Well, I don't fancy Healing. It says here you need at least an E at N.E.W.T. level in Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. I mean... blimey... Don't want much, do they?"

"Well, it's a very responsible job, isn't it?" Hermione inquired from her seat across the table. Poring over the same pamphlet as Allen, she said, "You don't seem to need many qualifications to liaise with Muggles... All they want is an O.W.L. in Muggle Studies... '_Much more important is your enthusiasm, patience, and a good sense of fun!'_"

"You'd need more than a good sense of fun to liaise with my uncle," Harry told her darkly. "Good sense of when to duck, more like..."

"Same goes for my master," Allen said.

"And Panda," Lavi added.

"Listen to this," Harry cut in. "'_Are you seeking a challenging career involving travel, adventure, and substantial, danger-related treasure bonuses? Then consider a position with Gringotts Wizarding Bank, who are currently recruiting Curse Breakers for thrilling opportunities abroad...' _They want Arithmancy though... You could do it, Hermione!"

"I don't much fancy banking," Hermione responded vaguely, flipping through another pamphlet, this time about training security trolls.

"Hey," a voice said, and Fred and George Weasley sat down on the table. Peering at Harry, Fred (Allen was always somehow able to distinguish the two twins from one another) said, "Ginny's had a word with us about you. She says you need to talk to Sirius?"

Allen remembered seeing Harry talking to Ron's sister in the library the other day. They were just getting chased out by the librarian, Madam Pince, but Allen had overheard something about Sirius, anyway...

"What?" Hermione snapped, freezing in the middle of picking up MAKING A BANG AT THE DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL ACCIDENTS AND CATASTROPHES.

"Yeah..." Harry said with an air of attempting to sound casual, "yeah, I thought I'd like-"

"Don't be so ridiculous," Hermione said sharply, straightening her back and staring at Harry as if he'd grown ten extra heads. "With Umbridge groping around in fires and frisking all the owls?"

"Well, we think we can find a way around that," George winked. "It's a simple matter of causing a diversion. Now, you might have noticed that we have been rather quiet on the mayhem front during the Easter holidays?"

That was true, Allen thought.

"What was the point, we asked ourselves, of disrupting leisure time?" Fred took over. "No point at all, we answered ourselves. And, of course, we'd have messed up people's studying time, too, which would be the last thing we'd want to do."

Hermione looked slightly taken aback.

"But it's business as usual from tomorrow," Fred continued. "And if we're going to be causing a bit of uproar, why not do it so that Harry can have his chat with Sirius?"

"Yes, but _still,_" Hermione said, "even if you _do_cause a diversion, how is Harry supposed to talk to him?"

"Umbridge's office."

"_Are – you – insane?_"

"And how are you going to get in there in the first place?" Hermione demanded.

"Sirius's knife."

"Excuse me?"

"Christmas before last he gave he gave me a knife that'll open any lock," Harry explained. "So even if she's bewitched the door so_Alohomora_ wouldn't work, which I bet she has-"

"What do you think about this?" Hermione asked Ron forcefully.

"I dunno," Ron said, almost defensively, sounding surprised to be asked his opinion. "If Harry wants to do it, it's up to him, isn't it?"

"Spoken like a true friend and Weasley," Fred said proudly, patting his brother on the back. "Right, then. We're thinking of doing it tomorrow just after lessons, because it should cause maximum impact if everybody's in the corridors – Harry, we'll set it off in the east wing somewhere, draw her right away from her office – I reckon we should be able to guarantee you, what, twenty minutes?"

"Easy," George nodded.

"What sort of diversion is it?" Ron asked.

"You'll see, little bro." Fred and George stood up. "At last, you will if trot Gregory Smarmy's corridor around five o'clock tomorrow."

"Wait," Allen said, dropping the pamphlet in his hand and following after the twins. "What exactly _are _you planning to do?"

"Something Umbridge won't forget," Fred answered, glancing at the others to make sure none of them were listening, "because we're thinking of leaving after this one."

"That so-called pursuing of your dream that lies in an abyss outside of what education can give you?"Allen asked with a sigh, remembering what the twins had said at the beginning of the school year.

"You've remembered, did you?" George laughed. "Yep, that's what we're after. We wish we could've stayed with you a little longer, but we've decided already. We're going. So, you and the others will take care of each other, won't you? We'll leave Lavi to a bit of our joke products, so if we don't see you before you leave, you'll have some stuff to take home to your friends in the nineteenth century... that's where you came from, right?"

"Yes," Allen nodded.

"Well, we'd be going now, prepare for tomorrow," Fred and George said. "Take care, okay, Allen?"

"Good night," Allen waved as the boys' dormitory door closed shut behind the two tall, redheaded twins. "Good-bye."

* * *

I finally updated, sorry for the delay, everyone--... Hope you enjoy it. It may be getting a bit boring, but I'm trying to speed up the story a bit so I can get to the more interesting part where I can add a bit more of the Exorcists in there... The fighting parts aren't always my favorite, but anyway... I'd better not talk too much about what's coming. 

Thanks for reading, and thanks for staying with this story for so long! It still continues... (I have no clue when it will end, but currently, I have written this story for up to chapter twenty-nine in the Harry Potter book, up to page six hundred fifty-nine.)


	43. Departure and a New Acquaintance

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Forty-three: Departure and a New Acquaintance

* * *

**Disclaimers**: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

**Recap:**

"Wait," Allen said, dropping the pamphlet in his hand and following after the twins. "What exactly _are _you planning to do?"

"Something Umbridge won't forget," Fred answered, glancing at the others to make sure none of them were listening, "because we're thinking of leaving after this one."

"That so-called pursuing of your dream that lies in an abyss outside of what education can give you?"Allen asked with a sigh, remembering what the twins had said at the beginning of the school year.

"You've remembered, did you?" George laughed. "Yep, that's what we're after. We wish we could've stayed with you a little longer, but we've decided already. We're going. So, you and the others will take care of each other, won't you? We'll leave Lavi to a bit of our joke products, so if we don't see you before you leave, you'll have some stuff to take home to your friends in the nineteenth century... that's where you came from, right?"

"Yes," Allen nodded.

"Well, we'd be going now, prepare for tomorrow," Fred and George said. "Take care, okay, Allen?"

"Good night," Allen waved as the boys' dormitory door closed shut behind the two tall, redheaded twins. "Good-bye."

* * *

"Good morning, Allen," Harry greeted the next morning, looking slightly stiff and nervous as he stood by the window beside Neville's bed. 

Allen rubbed sleep out of his eyes and returned the greeting. He didn't try to start a conversation with Harry, but stared at the snoring lump on the bed next to his that was Lavi. Looking at the red hair sticking out from under the blanket, Allen was reminded strongly of the two Weasley clowns.

Although he very much would have loved to stay and stop the twins from doing anything stupid, Allen knew that trying to prevent Fred and George Weasley from pulling a prank on a hated teacher wouldn't be any easier than trying to stop Komui from killing any man that got too close to Lenalee (the latter was possible, but nobody liked having to do it due to the fact that _they _had to risk their lives as well). Feeling a bit guilty as he thought of how Mrs. Weasley would feel about her sons dropping out of school, he dressed into his now familiar borrowed clothes and stepped out of the dormitories, out the common room, down the halls and out the castle, to Hagrid's hut. The half-giant was just coming back from the Forbidden Forest, limping slightly and appearing to be more battered than ever.

Upon noticing Allen, Hagrid gave a gruff smile and welcomed him into his hut.

"Looking a bit down today, aren' you?" the man asked as he went to reach for some of his large mugs.

"A bit,"Allen replied, beating Hagrid to the task. He proceeded to boil some water while he told Hagrid, with a sharp look, to sit down. "I'm sure I still look a sight better than you, though."

"Well, Grawpy's still learning," Hagrid shrugged and winced. "He's gotten a lot calmer, though! A gentleman!"

"That's great, Hagrid," Allen said, "but shouldn't you be a bit more careful about your own well being? You might get seriously hurt one of these days."

"You worry about yourself as well," Hagrid said sternly, waving a heavily bandaged finger at the Exorcist. He leaned in closer and lowered his voice, although nobody was in the small hut other than he and Allen and his great dog Fang. "You guys are goin' to do it, aren' you? You're goin' to sneak into the Ministry."

"It depends, really," Allen answered. He handed Hagrid his tea, scratched Fang behind his ear, and straightened up. "I'd better get going now, Hagrid. I'll talk to you later."

"One thing, what's bothering you so much right now?"

Allen didn't reply immediately. He opened the door, smiled over his shoulder, and said, "See you," before leaving Hagrid alone in the warm hut. It was still early in the morning. There were several more hours until Fred and George's show, and he was still very worried.

- - - -

Five o'clock greeted Lavi and Kanda peacefully. At least, the first few moments of it did. The two youths were walking down the corridor Fred and George had mentioned last night (although Kanda was not aware and Lavi had already completely forgotted such information), one of them talking continuously about something while the other determinedly ignored his friend.

"And then, you see, that cute girl - _Arrrggh!_"

Kanda immediately jumped onto the windowsill beside him to avoid falling like Lavi. The floor beneath them had been transformed into a large swamp, and around the corner, Kanda noticed, disappeared the flying hems of escaping students. They were most likely the ones who set this trap, and without bothering to stop and help Lavi, Kanda immediately leaped over the swamp and after the two troublemakers.

"_Ah_ - Yu... wait!" Lavi called after him helplessly.

Kanda chased the fleeing students all the way down to the entrance hall, but before he could catch them, he was knocked over by an oncoming crowd behind him. Students and teachers alike rushed past him down the stairs (he thought he glimpsed Lavi being pushed downstairs by the tide at one point) after the people who had made the swamp: everyone knew who they were, for there weren't anyone else who was daring enough to get on Dolores Umbridge's nerves something this nasty.

After a few minutes, a crowd in the shape of a ring had formed in the entrance hall, and in the middle of it stood Fred and George Weasley, who looked both proud and ashamed (Kanda thought he knew that was a fake grimace on their faces). Umbridge was beaming at them widely, like a toad who had just spotted and caught an especially delicious fly, and she said, just as Harry Potter rushed past Kanda and stopped several feet away from the woman,

"So! So... you think it amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp, do you?"

Fred and George nodded. "Pretty amusing, yeah," one of them answered. Kanda still hadn't gotten the hang of telling them apart.

"I've got the form, Headmistress," said a wheezing Filch as he elbowed his way toward Umbridge. He held up several pieces of parchment and seemed to be bursting with glee. Kanda didn't take it as anything good. "I've got the form and I've got the whips waiting... Oh, let me do it now..."

"Very good, Argus," Umbridge said approvingly. "You two are about to learn what happens to wrongdoers in my school," she said, addressing the twins.

"You know what?" one twin asked. "I don't think we are. George," he said, turning to the other twin, "I think we've outgrown full-time education."

The brother, George Weasley, voiced his agreement.

"Time to test our talents in the real world, d'you reckon?" Fred Weasley asked.

"Definitely."

Just as the twins raised their wands and Summoned their broomsticks, which had been locked up and chained in Umbridge's office ever since they and Harry were banned from Quidditch many months ago, Lenalee materialized into the air beside Kanda. Out of breath and panting heavily, she gasped, "What are those two _doing?_"

"Leaving, what else?" Kanda replied, watching with amusemnt as Fred and George mounted their broomsticks grinned devilishly at Umbridge.

"We won't be seeing you," a twin said (Kanda lost sight of who was who once again).

"Yeah, don't bother to keep in touch," the other added."If anyone fancies buying a Portable Swamp, as demonstrated upstair, come to number ninety-three, Diagon Alley - Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, our new premises!"

"Special discounts to Hogwarts students who swear their going to use our products to get rid of this old bat."

"STOP THEM!" Umbrige shrieked, but with a laugh, Fred and George swirved into the air overhead the goggling crowd, out of reach.

"But-" Lenalee said. "What about their education?"

"Quit acting like that Granger girl and let them do whatever they want," Kanda told her with a sigh. "It's not like they can stay here after this, anyway. Besides, that gets one-half of daily annoyance off my shoulders. Why would I care?"

But Lenalee wasn't listening: "Where's Lavi and Allen?"

"No clue."

"Krory and Miranda?"

"Grimmauld Place, they'll be back tomorrow."

"Oh, jeez..."

A great clamor from the entrance hall made both Exorcists pause in their conversation. One of the twins' broomsticks was trailing a long chain, which was scratching against the stone floor.

"Give her hell from us, Peeves," one said to the poltergeist who was floating at level with them over the crowd.

And, as Kanda and Lenalee watched, the ghost swept off his hat and saluted to the twins, who, as if chased by a tidal wave of hearty applause and cheering, gave one fianl grin at the students and sped out of Hogwarts's front doors and into the world outside, the dangling chain just barely missing the top of a white haired head.

- - - -

"_You're going to tell them?" _Lavi and Allen exclaimed on the day of the next Quidditch match. They were sitting across the table from Hagrid in the man's hut, and they, supporting borrowed clothes in the colors of red and gold, had merely dropped by to say their hello's before they went to the field to cheer for Ron and his team.

Hagrid, Allen noted, looked much worse than he had on the day of the Weasley twins' departure, what with around five more bruises and ten more cuts marring his face. He had a new layer of bandages on his hand, which also added to the hostility of his appearance. His unordinary size didn't help much, either.

"God, Hagrid, if he can do that much damage to _you, _Harry and the other two will snap like twigs!" Lavi said, snapping his fingers in demonstration. "Like this!"

"You say it like a bad thing, you do," Hagrid grunted. "Grawpy's still learnin', he can' help it... It's - it's in his nature..."

"Nature to beat up his own kind?" Allen asked sarcastically.

"He's a _giant!"_ Hagrid retorted.

"Oh, fine," Lavi sighed. "Allen, I guess we'll have to skip the match today.. Leave Lenalee and the others to do the cheering. We'll be in the forest, Hagrid. 'Kay?"

"I was looking forward to the game though," Allen muttered as he and his friend stepped into the Forbidden Forest together. He wondered why in the world he had chosen to drop in by Hagrid today... if only he and Lavi had decided to go straight to field. He loved helping out their giant friend, but going near Hagrid's younger brother was another story. God knew the number of times he and Lavi brushed death while trying to tame that supposedly young giant...

"Grawp?" Lavi called unenthusiastically. "Grawpy? Can you find us? It's us, Lavi and Allen!"

"He's probably asleep," Allen whispered. "Let's go."

And the two walked on, on and on, until the came across a mound in the forest floor. The mound moved up and down in a rhythmic matter, as if it was breathing. In fact, it _was _breathing - snoring, to be exact - and as the two Exorcists approached, it gave another roaring snort and shifted on its side. Its movements were restricted due to the ropes tying it to the two trees nearby, and Allen and Lavi were glad of it.

"Now what?" Lavi asked.

"Now we wait until Hagrid arrived with Harry and Hermione," Allen said. "Although I wonder why he's telling them. Sure he's in danger of being kicked out of the school, but, surely, the two of us are more free to move around than those two?"

"If it means less time nearly getting killed, I'm not complaining." Lavi grunted and dropped down on a fallen tree. Grawp had uprooted that one during one of their previous visits. "Hallelujah."

Allen sighed and turned back to look at the sleeping giant.

* * *

Hello everyone--

Merry Christmas, and happy holidays!

I don't know how to start apologizing about not updating for so long. I lost part of this chapter when my computer crashed the other day, so I desperately typed this one up on my mother's computer (whose keyboard is the hardest thing to use after my laptop... so many typos) It may also take me a while until I post the next chapter, but I will try to work on it as much as I can during this winter break.


	44. Weasley Is Our King

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Forty-four: Weasley Is Our King

* * *

**Disclaimers**: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

**Recap:**

"Grawp?" Lavi called unenthusiastically. "Grawpy? Can you find us? It's us, Lavi and Allen!"

"He's probably asleep," Allen whispered. "Let's go."

And the two walked on, on and on, until the came across a mound in the forest floor. The mound moved up and down in a rhythmic matter, as if it was breathing. In fact, it _was _breathing - snoring, to be exact - and as the two Exorcists approached, it gave another roaring snort and shifted on its side. Its movements were restricted due to the ropes tying it to the two trees nearby, and Allen and Lavi were glad of it.

"Now what?" Lavi asked.

"Now we wait until Hagrid arrived with Harry and Hermione," Allen said. "Although I wonder why he's telling them. Sure he's in danger of being kicked out of the school, but, surely, the two of us are more free to move around than those two?"

"If it means less time nearly getting killed, I'm not complaining." Lavi grunted and dropped down on a fallen tree. Grawp had uprooted that one during one of their previous visits. "Hallelujah."

Allen sighed and turned back to look at the sleeping giant.

* * *

Harry, Hermione, and Hagrid arrived with the sound of snapping twigs and Hagrid muttering. 

"Really easy," he said quietly. "Very quiet, now..."

And their three shadows appeared from between the trees. Hermione and Harry didn't notice the two people sitting on a fallen tree beside them, but their eyes were immediately glued on to the moving mound of earth that was actually Hagrid's-

"Sleepin'," Hagrid said softly.

"Hagrid," Hermione said in a terrified, barely audible voice, "who is he? Hagrid, you told us, you told us none of them wanted to come!"

Grawp gave another earth shattering snore and shifted again.

"Well - no - he didn' want ter come," Hagrid said hurriedly. "But I had ter bring him, Hermione, I had ter!"

"But why?" Hermione sounded near tears now. "Why - what - oh, _Hagrid_!"

"I knew if I jus' got him back," Hagrid said in a gruff tone, "an' - an' taught him a few manners - I'd be able ter take him outside an' show ev'ryone he's harmless!...Ah! Where're Allen an' Lavi - I told them ter go ahead an' wait fer us - they should be around-"

"We're right here, Hagger," Lavi called lazily, half slumped against Allen's shoulder. The darkness of the forest was making him sleepy.

"They knew about him?" Hermione said hysterically. "They knew about - about- oh, Hagrid! _Harmless_! Harmless, you say?" She pointed, almost accusingly, at Grawp. "He's been hurting you all this time, hasn't he? That's why you've had all these injuries!"

"He don' know his own strength!" Hagrid defended. "An' he's gettin' better, he's not fightin' so much anymore-"

"So this is why if took you two months to get home!" Hermione continued, not listening to Hagrid at all. "Oh, Hagrid, why did you bring him back if he didn't want to come, wouldn't he have been happier with his own people?"

"They were all bullyin' him, Hermione, 'cause he's so small!" Hagrid argued.

"Small?" Hermione repeated. "_Small?_"

"I would agree with Hagrid," Lavi said only to Allen. "Just... not wholeheartedly. Actually, not at all..."

"You're delirious," Allen told him seriously.

"Hermione, I couldn't leave him," Hagrid cried. "See - he's my brother!"

When Hermione failed to come up with a retort and merely stared open mouthed at Hagrid, Harry finally spoke up, slowly and catiously, keeping his eyes on Grawp's sleeping body.

"Hagrid, when you say 'brother'," he said, "do you mean-?"

"Well - half-brother," Hagrid corrected himself. "Turns out me mother took up with another giant when she left me dad, an' she went an' had Grawp here-"

"Grawp?"

"Yeah... well, tha's what it sounds like when he says his name. He don' speak a lot of English... I've been tryin' ter teach him... Anyway, she don' seem ter have liked him much more'n she liked me..." Hagrid answered sadly. "See, with giantesses, what counts is poducin' good big kids, and he's always been a bit on the runty size fer a giant - on'y sixteen foot-"

"Oh, yes, tiny!" Hermione shrieked, regaining her voice and still sounding quite crazy as she dripped sarcasm from every syllable. "Absolutely miniscule!"

Allen took pity on her at that moment: she looked ready to pull her hair out, and so he gently took her by the shoulders and steered her over to where he and Lavi had stationed themselves. The redheaded Bookman-in-training placed an assuring pat on her back and smiled at her. It didn't seem to help much.

"He was bein' kicked around by all o' them - I jus' couldn't leave him-"

"Did Madam Maxime want to bring him back?" Harry asked.

"She-" Hagrid began.

"She put up with it for a while, he told us," Lavi said airily. "But I guess she-"

"She could see it was right importan' ter me," Hagrid cut in. "Bu' - bu' she got tired of him after a while, I must admit... so we split up on the journey home... She promised not ter tell anyone though.."

"How on earth did you get him back without anyone noticing?" Harry questioned.

"We asked him that too," Allen sighed. "Apparently-"

"Well, tha's why it took so long, see," Hagrid answered. "Could on'y travel by nigh' an' through wild country an' stuff. 'Course, he covers the ground pretty well when he wants ter, see, but he kep' wanting' ter go back..."

"Oh, Hagrid, why on earth didn't you let him!" Hermione shrieked, and fell down onto the log behind her where she covered her face with her hands in deperation. Allen sat down beside her and tried to comfort her. Hermione, however, ignored him and attacked Hagrid with sharp words. "What do you think you're going to do with a violent giant who doesn't even want to be here!"

"Well, now - 'violent' - tha's a bit harsh," Hagrid stuttered, wringing his hands anxiously. "I'll admit he mighta taken a couple of swings at me when he's bin in a bad mood, but he's gettin' better, loads better, settlin' down well..."

"What are those ropes for, then?" Harry interrupted with an unconvinced tone.

"You have to keep him tied up?" Hermione added.

"Well... yeah... See - it's like I say - he doesn' really know his strength-"

"So what is it you want Harry and Ron and me to do?" Hermione interrupted now, having calmed down and accepted that Grawp was staying where Hagrid wanted him to stay.

"Us too," Lavi whispered to her, but he was then hit by an airborne boot. When he looked down, Allen was missing one of his shoes and messaging with a glare for Lavi to close his trap and let Hagrid sort everything out. Not wanting to get hit by Allen's other shoe, Lavi went quiet.

Hagrid looked like he'd swallowed something nasty, then tears welled up in his eyes again and he said in a cracking voice, "Look after him. After I'm gone."

Afer exchanging crestfallen looks with Harry, Hermione asked, "What - what does that involve, exactly?"

"Not food or anythin'!" Hagrid told her hastily. "He can get his own food, no problem. Birds an' deer an' stuff... No, it's company he needs. If I jus' knew someone was carryin' on tryin' ter help him a bit... teachin' him, yeh know."

Harry didn't answer to Hagrid's request immediately. Allen and Lavi both watched him as the black haired boy turned his gaze to the still-sleeping Grawp, who, unlike his older brother, did not look so human. His unproportionally large head was covered with short, closely curled hair, and it sat upon his wide shoulders with almost no neck in between. His back was extremely broad and covered with a top made from various animal skin. That in itself was okay, Allen thought, is his skin hadn't looked so strange. It was more like elephant skin, he thought, remembering the large animals he'd seen s year ago (or in some cases, a century and a year ago) during his travels with Master Cross, when he had been staying in India.

"You want us to teach him," Harry finally said in an empty tone.

"Yeah - even if yeh jus' talk ter him a bit..." Hagrid said. "'Cause I reckon, if he can talk ter people, he'll understand more that we all like him really, an' want him ter stay..."

"Teaching Grawp English is like trying to teach Akuma not to kill," Lavi muttered, but regretted it deeply when he was promptly assaulted by Allen's other boot. "Ow!"

"Kind of makes you wish we had Norbert back, doesn't it?" Harry asked Hermione, and Hermione gave a humorless laugh.

"Yeh'll do it, then?" Hagrid asked them hopefully.

"We'll... We'll try, Hagrid..."

"I knew I could count on yeh, Harry," Hagrid nodded and smiled gratefully. "'Course, Allen and Lavi said they'll help out, too, but - well, they're mission's about to get them busy, they say..." He trailed off for a bit after that, but added, "An' I don' wan' yeh ter put yerself out too much, like... I know yeh've go exams... If yeh could jus' nip down here in yer Invisibility Cloak maybe once a week an' have a little chat with him... I'll wake him up, then - introduce you-"

"Oh shoot," Lavi said, but Allen had no more shoes to throw.

"Wha- no!" Hermione gasped, leaping to her feet. "Hagrid, no, don't wake him, really, we don't need-"

A shuddering roar broke the silence as Hagrid, apparently not hearing Hermione's pleas, took a long branch and poked Grawp's back with it. The giant woke and sat up on the ground, towering over them all and peering at them with his sleepy and ugly face.

"All righ', Grawpy?" Hagrid called, backing up and raising his stick to poke Grawp again. "Had a nice sleep, eh?"

"They're scared out of their wits," Lavi said as Hermione disappeared from between him and Allen and backed up from Grawp with Harry, their eyes glued to the giant. "Harry's faced the most frightening wizard more than just a couple times, and yet he's scared of a smaller-than-average _giant."_

"Well, that's kind of like you," Allen said, "with Bookman-"

"Oh, yeah?" Lavi retorted suddenly. "How about _you?_ You'll eat anything, and yet you freak at the sight of alcohol!"

Meanwhile, Hagrid was trying to protect himself from a shower of falling bird eggs as Grawp shook a nest in search of birds to eat.

"Anyway, Grawpy," Hagrid shouted at his sixteen-foot-tall brother, "I've brought some friends ter meet yeh. Remember, I told yeh I might? Remember, when I said I might have to go on a little trip an' leave them ter look after yeh fer a bit? Remember that, Grawpy? Now, Grawpy, don' do that! Tha's how you ended up pullin' up the others-"

Hagrid might as well save his breath, the Exorcists thought as they watched the tree Grawp was pulling give in to the giant's strength: the earth around the tree's roots was beginning to move. Hagrid's halfhearted scolding did nothing to stop him.

"I've got company for yeh!" Hagrid said persistently. "Company, see! Look down, yer big buffoon, I brought yeh some friends!"

"I have a feeling _they _don't really need him to look down and notice them," Lavi said, motioning to a faint looking Hermione and a frozen Harry. Allen only grimaced.

Grawp finally gave Hagrid his attention, letting go of the pine tree so suddenly that it sprang back and swayed dangerously before uprighting itself. He looked down at Hagrid, who waved his arm in Harry and Hermione's direction.

_"This _is Harry, Grawp!" Hagrid introduced enthusiastically. "Harry Potter! He migh' be comin' ter visit yeh if I have ter go away, understand? An' this is Hermione, see? Her - ...Would yeh mind if he called yeh Hermy, Hermione? On'y it's a difficult name fer him ter remember..."

"No, not at all," was the barely audible reply.

"This is Hermy, Grawp! An' she's gonna be comin' an' all! Is'n tha' nice? Eh? Two friends fer yeh ter- GRAWPY, NO!"

Allen reacted immediately when he saw Grawp stretch his hand toward the girl, who clung fearfully to Harry as he backed away behind a tree with her. Allen smacked Grawp's hand so that it changed course and brushed the tree trunk instead of catching Hermione.

"BAD BOY, GRAWPY!" Hagrid bellowed. "VERY BAD BOY! YEH DON' GRAB - OUCH!"

"Ooh, Hagrid, that must've hurt," Lavi winced as Hagrid picked himself off the ground and pinched his bleeding nose.

"Righ'," Hagrid grunted. "Well... here yeh are... Yeh've met him an' - an' he'll know yeh when ye come back. Yeah... well.." He glanced at Grawp, who had resumed pulling on the pines. 'Well, I reckon tha's enough fer one day. We'll - er - we'll go back now, shall we?"

Nodding, Harry and Hermione silently followed Hagrid into the dark forest again, Allen and Lavi trailing behind. For the next few minutes, nobody spoke other than for Lavi's teasing toward Hermione ("I think you've just gotten yourself a new admirer... which reminds me, whatever happened to you and Yu?") which promptly earned him a whack in the head from Allen, who hissed at him to be quiet and leave Hermione alone ("I am perfectly capable of walking through this forest without shoes... so don't make me throw them at you again!") at which he finally fell silent and sulked.

"Hold it," Hagrid suddenly said, and all of them came to an abrupt halt, Allen and Lavi stepping up protectively behind Hermione and Harry, their narrowed eyes flickering side to side in caution.

"Oh blimey," they heard Hagrid sigh.

"I though we told you, Hagrid, that yo uare no longer welcome here?" a deep voice questioned, calm yet hostile, as a man's naked torso floated toward them from the darkness-

No, it was not floating. It was connected to the body of a chestnut colored horse. Allen remembered hearing myths about such creatures during the rare lazy days he spent talking to Bookman in the Order's library. They sometimes appeared in old Greek legends... centaurs, that's what they were called. Hagrid had mentioned them too, when Firenze the new Divination teacher was appointed: the centuars generally did not think highly of humans, and Firenze's willingly being employed by wizards had angered them more than anything - and Hagrid had been the one to save Firenze from his herd's attack, and Hagrid was now an enemy too...

"How are yeh, Magorian?"

Several more centaurs walked up beside the first one, and a black bodied one said to the one known as Magorian:

"So. We agreed, I think, what we would do if this human showed his face in the forest again?"

"'This human' now, am I?" Hagrid asked with an edge to his voice. "Jus' fer stoppin' all of yeh commitin' murder?"

"You ought not to have meddled, Hagrid," Magorian told him. "Our ways are not yours, nor are our laws. Firenze has betrayed and dishonored us."

'I dunno ho yeh work that out. He's done nothin' except help Albus Dumbledore-"

"Firenze has entered into servitude to humans," a third, gray bodied centaur stated.

"_Servitude_!" Hagrid exclaimed angrily. "He's doin' Dumbledore a favor is all-"

"He is peddling our knowledge and secrets among humans," Magorian cut in. "There can be no return from such disgrace."

"If yeh say so, but I personally think yeh're makin' a big mistake-"

"As you are human," the black bodied one interrupted, "coming back into our forest when we warned you-"

"Now, you listen ter me. I'll have no less of the 'our' forest, if it's all the same ter you. It's not up ter you who comes an' goes in here-"

"No more is it up to you, Hagrid," Magorian forced. "I shall let you pass today because you are accompanied by your young-"

His eyes flickered over Hermione's frightened face, Harry's incredulous expression, and the guarded glares of Lavi and Allen.

"They're not his!" the black bodied one pointed out furously. "Students, Magorian, from up at the school! They have probably already profited from the traitor Firenze's teachings... and those two there, they have been coming and going to the forest lately, associating with-"

"Hey hey," Lavi called, "Grawp may be a bit on the violent and destructive side to you, but once you've seen Komu's robots you'll think otherwise - NO, ALLEN, DON'T YOU DARE THROW THAT BOOT AT ME!"

"Nevertheless," Magorian ignored Lavi, "the slaughter of foals is a terrible crime... We do not touch the innocent. Today, Hagrid, ou pass. Henceforth, stay away from this place. You forfeited the friendship of the centaurs when you helped the traitor escape us."

"I won't be kept ourra the fores' by a bunch of mules like you!" Hagrid yelled.

"Hagrid," Hermione squeaked weakly, "let's go, please let's go!" She glanced, terrified, at the centaurs as they pawed the ground with scowls on their faces.

"We know what you are keeping in the forest, Hagrid!" Magorian called as the group moved forward. "And our tolerance is waning!"

Hagrid turned and made to go back, but Harry and Hermione began to push him, and he instead settled to bellowing. "You'll tolerate him as long as he's here, it's a much his forest as yours!" He looked down, put on a surprised look, and turned back around and resumed leading the way. "Calm down, you two," he said. "Ruddy old nags though, eh?"

"Hagrid," Hermione gasped, "if centaurs don't want humans in the forest, it doesn't really look as though Harry and I will be able-"

"Ah, you heard what they said," Hagrid shrugged her off. "They wouldn't hurt foals - I mean, kids. Anyway, we can't let ourselves be pushed around by that lot..."

"Nice try," Harry said to her.

The five of them broke through the last of the trees and into the light. In the distance, they could hear the definite sounds of cheering coming fom the Qudditch stadium.

"Was that another goal? Or d'you reckon the match is over?" Hagrid asked.

"I don't know," Hermione mumbled.

"You two look terrible," Lavi commented suddenly. Allen glanced at Hermione and Harry, who were covered in twigs and scratches all over themselves. Allen knew he and Lavi looked slightly better, for they were now quite used to going through the forest.

"I reckon it's over, yeh know! Look - there's people comin' out already - if you two hurry yeh'll be able ter blend in with the crowd an' no one'll know you weren't there!"

"What about _us?"_ Lavi demanded incredulously.

"We don't need to blend in with any crowd, since we're basically allowed to go anywhere, Lavi," Allen explained. "Come on, I see Lenalee up there!"

As the four of them made their way toward the stadium, Hermione spoke in a hysterical hiss of disbelief to Harry, who tried his best to calm her down. Allen and Lavi listened absentmindedly to it for a while until singing reached their ears...

_Weasley is our King,_

_Weasley is our King,_

_He didn't let the Quaffle in,_

_Weasley is our King..._

"And I with they'd stop singing that stupid song, haven't they gloated enough?" Hermione snapped. "Oh, let's get in before we have to meet the Slytherins."

_ Weasley can save anything,_

_He never leaves a single ring,_

_That's why Gryffindors all sing:_

_Weasley is our King._

"My God," Allen breathed, doubting his ears.

"No way," Lavi hissed.

"Hermione..." Harry began.

The singing grew louder as a sea of red and gold erupted from the stadium, bearing upon its shoulders the figure of a single, red headed teenager...

_Weasley is our King,_

_Weasey is our King,_

_He didn't let the Quaffle in,_

_Weasley is our King..._

"No!" Hermione said in a hushed voice.

"YES!" exclaimed the others, punching the air in victory.

"HARRY! HERMIONE!" Ron yelled from his perch atop his classmates. "WE DID IT! WE WON!" He triumphantly waved the gleaming Quidditch Cup in the air, smiling as widely as he'd never done before.


	45. Night Raid

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Forty-five: Night Raid

* * *

**Disclaimers**: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

**Recap:**

The singing grew louder as a sea of red and gold erupted from the stadium, bearing upon its shoulders the figure of a single, red headed teenager...

_Weasley is our King,_

_Weasey is our King,_

_He didn't let the Quaffle in,_

_Weasley is our King..._

"No!" Hermione said in a hushed voice.

"YES!" exclaimed the others, punching the air in victory.

"HARRY! HERMIONE!" Ron yelled from his perch atop his classmates. "WE DID IT! WE WON!" He triumphantly waved the gleaming Quidditch Cup in the air, smiling as widely as he'd never done before.

* * *

"You can't hide it from him forever, you know," Lavi and Allen said the next day as they, Harry, and Hermione watched Ron be congratulated by fellow Gryffindors for the hundredth time that day. 

"Same for you," Harry said back.

"Whether Ron knows or not isn't really our concern," Lavi shrugged, but Harry and Hermione just don't sound right. Harry and Ron works out just fine, but you Harry and Hermione? No way, that just has to be Harry and Ron and Hermione to make it sound perfect."

"You make no sense, Lavi," Allen muttered.

"Yes I do, what are you talking about?" Lavi gasped, faking hurt. "You of all people should see sense in what I'm talking about! Don't you agree with me when I say your name and my name never sound complete unless we put Yu's name with them?"

"I feel a lot more complete when Kanda's name is not put with mine, thank you very much," Allen replied coldly.

"That's not something a friend should say about a friend," Lavi whined.

"I will talk about him kindly when _he _starts treating me like a human and not a vegetable."

"Will the two of you please _shut up?" _Harry and Hermione said in unison and jumped to their feet. They marched over to Ron and, after a few moments of conversing, nearly dragged him outside. Allen and Lavi heard the tallest of them mumbling about fresh air.

"More than Grawp, however, they should worry about their O.W.L. exams," Allen sighed after them. Lavi grinned and leaned back in his chair.

"That's what's probably going through Hermione's mind," he said. "Harry might be obsessed with Voldemort, though, and Ron's full of himself about winning the Quidditch Cup. Where's Lenalee?"

"Right here," said the girl, plopping down in Harry's empty seat. She fiddled with the simple shirt she was wearing, which had a strange stain on the front (it was borrowed from Ginny, who mentioned she was wearing it one day when Fred and George were in the middle of an experiment that exploded). Allen could only guess that the stain was decorative enough for Ginny, or she didn't really care about squeaky-clean clothes. Either way, Lenalee had obviously taken a liking to it.

"Have Miranda and Krory come back?" Allen asked her.

"Yes, and we will be staying here until Komui returns," Lenalee answered. "He won't be able to contact us, with all the security, so we'll have to wait until something happens. Until then, our job is to protect Hogwarts."

"And the fifth years, definitely," Lavi chortled, snatching a bottle of something strange out of a passing seventh year's hands, instead slipping a couple of Galleons into his hands. "Look. This is supposedly Baruffio's Brain Elixir, but Hermione insists it's dried pixy droppings. I saw her confiscating powdered dragon claw, but that was fake too. It's a black market around exam times, apparently, because O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. are really important to the wizarding world."

Lenalee solemnly looked around the room. "One hundred years, and look how far people can get," she said. "Back where we come from, only the rich men were able to afford good schooling. The smaller villages had a single school if they could afford it, but in the cities, people who weren't fiscally privileged couldn't even read."

"Yeah," Lavi nodded. "There were some countries where young kids had the right to an education to a certain age, but here, in this age, education is a granted."

"That's a good thing," Allen smiled, mirroring Lenalee and looking around as well.

- - - -

Chaos reined among fifth years for the next few days. Although exams had a great part in its cause, to the Exorcists the only thing significant was the mischief arounsing around Umbridge.

"I mistranslated 'ehwaz'," Hermione said one day as she stormed into the common room after taking her Ancient Runes exam. "It means 'partnership', not 'defense'. I mixed it up with 'eihwaz'."

"Er - what's the difference?" Lavi asked nervously.

"Ah well," Ron added, "that's only one mistake, isn't it, you'll still get-"

"Oh shut up," Hermione snapped, "it could be the one mistake that makes the difference between a pass and a fail. And what's more, someone's put another niffler in Umbridge's office, I don't know how they got it through that new door, but I just walked past there and Umbridge is shrieking her head off - by the sound of it, it tried to take a chunk out of her leg-"

"Good."

"It's _not _good! She thinks it's Hagrid doing it, remember? And we do _not _want Hagrid chucked out!"

"He's teaching at the moment, she can't blame him," Harry told her.

"Oh, you're so _naive _sometimes, Harry, you really think Umbridge will wait for proof?" Hermione asked scathingly.

"Such a lovely, sweet-tempered girl," Ron said as she stormed off to the girls' dormitories.

Lavi's rest of the weekend and the next week consisted mainly of laughing at every silly story from the exams Harry and Ron told. The one about Divination exams had him rolling about on the floor hysterically, for the thought of Harry telling the examiner she ought to have died last Tuesday amused him beyond belief. But Allen and Lenalee soon dragged him off to Hagrid's hut, however, when Hermione, Harry, and Ron left for their Astronomy practical exam that night.

- - - -

"Now that I've got the sillies out of me," Lavi said as he skipped ahead of Lenalee and Allen across the grass, "my stomach's queezy."

"How does that figure?" Lenalee asked curiously.

"I dunno, but I've got a bad feeling about tonight, and my bad feelings usually are right."

"Like that one time you popped out of a barrel when you were looking for me and resulted in getting tied to a chair as well as requested to go vampire hunting?" Allen suggested, recalling the time when they had first met their good friend Krory.

"Yup, I had a bad feeling from the moment I noticed you weren't on the train," Lavi agreed. "Oh, and almost getting eaten by a man-eating flower was not in my plans, either."

"Do you think your bad feelings has anything to do with Hagrid?" Lenalee asked, cutting across the boys' conversation. "Dolores Umbridge?"

"_Anything _that has to do with Dolores Umbridge is bad news, Lenalee," Lavi pointed out. "In any case, let's just hope my feelings are wrong, for once."

"Percentage chance of it being so?" Allen asked.

A pause. Then, "Almost twenty-percent," Lavi replied.

- - - -

"Well, now, this is a pleasant surprise," Hagrid said when the three Exorcists appeared on his front steps. "It's nearly midnight, you three."

"We're very aware," Allen told the man as he waved them in. "We just wanted to see how you were doing."

"Harry, Ron, an' Hermione taking their exams?" Hagrid asked.

"Astronomy," Lenalee answered.

Hagrid grimaced.

"Rock cakes?" he offered.

Despite their reluctance to eat such hard cakes, Allen, Lavi, and Lenalee ended up staying in Hagrid's cabin for quite a while. When they felt that at least an hour or so had passed, they heard the sound of people moving.

Closer..

Closer..

Until they were right outside the door.

"Who is that?" Allen wondered as shadows moved outside the curtained windows. Lavi tiptoed over to it and peeked through a corner. His face immediately turned a ghastly white.

"It's Umbridge," he said in a hushed voice.

"_What?"_ Lenalee squeaked.

"Quick!" Hagrid said quickly, pushing Allen out of his seat and nearly shoving him under the bed. "_Hide_!"

"Hag-"

"Hurry!"

There was a knock on the door just as Lavi rolled in after Lenalee, and Hagrid opened it. Dolores Umbridge and several other wizards stepped in. The door was closed.

"How may I help yeh?" Hagrid asked stiffly.

"We would like you request that you come with us, Hagrid," one of the wizards said, and without warning, the room exploded in flashes of light as spells flew from numerous wands. There were some that hit Hagrid, but they all bounced off him as he gave a yell of surprised anger. He ducked his head and tackled his way through the attackers, making a mad dash toward the door, which he blasted down with his shoulder. The wizards followed him outside, Fang the dog barking after them, and Allen, Lavi, and Lenalee crawled out of their hiding place in a daze.

They rushed to the door and watched as spells were thrown at Hagrid by the five Aurors and Umbridge, all of whom were too intent on capturing Hagrid to notice the three. Some curses only nearly missed them, but none of them moved from their spot.

"Be reasonable, Hagrid!" yelled one of the Aurors.

"Reasonable be damned, yeh won' take me like this, Dawlish!" Hagrid roared.

Allen and the others were dying to help the man, but they didn't miss the fleeting look he gave them, which said, without a doubt, to stay out of the way. They could only watch helplessly as he fought.

There was a flash of light as Fang was hit by one of the spells and fell.

Suddenly, when Hagrid gave another roar of anger, an enraged shriek pierced the night with him.

"How dare you! How _dare_ you!"

Minerva McGonagall was marching across the dark grounds, a look of hatred on her wrinkled face as she approached.

"On what grounds are you attacking him? He has done nothing, nothing to warrant such-"

Allen slapped a hand over Lenalee's mouth to stifle her cry of shock. A handful of Stunning Spells were shot at McGonagall, hitting her in the chest. There was a short moment when she was suspended in mid-step halfway between the castle and the cabin, illuminated by a red glow, before she collapsed on her back.

Then, she moved no more.

"COWARDS!" bellowed Hagrid, who had seen the sudden attack. "RUDDY COWARDS! HAVE SOME O' THAT - AN' THAT-"

Two massive swings of his arm beat the wizards closest to him, and Hagrid suddenly bent. When he straightened, Fang's limp body was on his shoulder.

"Get him, get him!" Umbridge screamed. The only remaining Auror, however, was scared of getting near the large man, and Hagrid seized the chance. He turned on his heels and with Fang held tightly in his arms, he ran toward the school gates. Allen watched him as he ran.

Farther and farther, until the night swallowed him.

Lenalee had disappeared from his side as she dashed toward McGonagall. Allen and Lavi followed her, and all of them knelt by the teacher as Lavi reached for the woman's wrist and placed two fingers on the skin.

"How is she?" Lenalee asked timidly.

Lavi's green eye betrayed no emotion, but he gave a sigh.

"She's still alive," he whispered, "but let's go take her to the hospital wing."

"Let's," Allen agreed, and both boys gingerly picked McGonagall up. At Lenalee's insistence, Lavi ended up carrying her into the castle.

"She's a tall woman, Allen, you'll have a hard time carrying her," she explained to Allen's confused look. The two of them glanced at Umbridge, who was giving them a look of hatred as the Aurors began to stir.

They looked away from her and followed Lavi into the castle.


	46. Good Bye Hogwarts

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Forty-six: Good-Bye Hogwarts

* * *

**Disclaimers**: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

**Recap:**

"How is she?" Lenalee asked timidly.

Lavi's green eye betrayed no emotion, but he gave a sigh.

"She's still alive," he whispered, "but let's go take her to the hospital wing."

"Let's," Allen agreed, and both boys gingerly picked McGonagall up. At Lenalee's insistence, Lavi ended up carrying her into the castle.

"She's a tall woman, Allen, you'll have a hard time carrying her," she explained to Allen's confused look. The two of them glanced at Umbridge, who was giving them a look of hatred as the Aurors began to stir.

They looked away from her and followed Lavi into the castle.

* * *

The message came the next afternoon. 

The Exorcists were having their usual meeting at the edge of the forest, all of them wearing their black uniforms for the first time in weeks (just because they wanted to). The Gryffindor three was retelling the story of Dolores Umbridge's attack on Rubeus Hagrid and Minerva McGonagall's misfortune. Lavi was just reciting Poppy Pomfrey's words on the teacher's condition.

"She's going to be moved to St. Mungo's soon," he said. "Four Stunning Spells to the chest at her age - that's no good news."

"Poor woman," Arystar Krory muttered from his spot. His presence was suddenly alien among them, along with Miranda Lotto and Yu Kanda, all three of whom were usually away from Hogwarts school (they were mostly in charge of walking around Hogsmeade and traveling to and from the Order of the Phoenix's base). Allen and Lenalee realized that they hadn't seen the three much at all ever since Christmas holidays, and were glad to have them sitting nearby again.

"What has happened to Mr. Hagrid after he escaped?" Miranda asked worriedly.

"No clue," Lavi shook his head. "Anyway, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Allen, and me are still in charge of taking care of dear ol' Grawpy, and-"

"Dear old _who?"_ Kanda said incredulously. "You two idiots got yourselves mixed into some personal problem once again? How about you put the mission first before everything else, eh?"

"Quit snapping at us, Kanda," Allen said calmly, grateful that the swordsman's irritation was, for once, not directed solely on himself. "It's not exactly _our _fault that we were told by Komui to look through the Dark Forest and ended up being nearly killed by Grawp. I mean - what's _that_ doing in the air?_"_

_"_Oh my," Miranda gasped.

"Oy!" Lavi suddenly exclaimed, waving his arms. "Thestral! Come down here, come down I say!" He did a horrible imitation of Hagrid's echoing call, but it seemed to work as the thestral turned on its course and came soaring down toward them.

"Lavi... what was that scream for? You sounded like an insane freak," Kanda commented.

"Oh, shut up, Yu..."

"A letter," Lenalee muttered as the thestral sniffed her hand and shook its head. Hanging from its neck was a small pouch, and Allen had opened it, pulling out a small folded up parchment. On it was the unmistakable handwriting of Komui Lee. "It's from brother! But how did it manage to get through-"

"Umbridge can't see thestrals, that's why," Allen explained shortly. He quickly scanned the letter, and without another word, handed it to Lenalee before turning on his heels and disappearing into the forest.

"Where might he be headed?" Krory mused as Lenalee began to read her brother's letter.

_To everyone,_

_As Mr. Moony advised me, I am sending this letter by a thestral (I myself am not sure how it came, quite honestly...)_

_I would like to request that you, immediately upon receiving this letter, find yourselves some thestrals and come to the Black's house. Allen and Lavi should know how to call them, right? Will explain later. _

_See you soon, Komui_

"So that's where Moyashi went?" Kanda said as he and the others stepped into the forest as well, followed for some reason by the thestral who brought the message.

"He could have explained," Lavi sighed. "Well, it was him that learned from Hagrid first, I just went along. I think he mentioned the smell of raw meat... How is he going to get his hands on _that?"_

"Hey! Guys!" a distant voice called, and there was a flash of white in the darkness beyond.Allen was waving his arm to beckon them over, and when they approached him, he was standing by a couple of thestrals, patting their scaly necks at a rhythmic pace with his left hand and smiling. One of them was licking at his right hand, which hung at his side. In the darkness of the forest, no one was sure of it, but there was something wet and shiny trickling down his fingers, and that was what the thestral was licking up.

"Allen!" Lavi exclaimed in shock. "You... you... you _cut _yourself to call the thestrals?"

"I couldn't think of anything else, you see," Allen chuckled nervously.

"You're so stupid," Lavi said.

"There's enough for two of us to ride on a thestral," Allen said, ignoring Lavi's last comment. "More will probably come, but I don't think we have time to be waiting for all of them, so-"

"W-well, since Krory and I are accustomed to traveling together now, I think we could go on one," Miranda suggested, and the tall man nodded. Allen agreed and handed one of the thestrals to the two.

"I'll go with Lena-" Lavi started, but Lenalee cut him off.

"_No, _Lavi, you'll go with Kanda," she said with a tone of finalty. "If you go with me, Allen and Kanda will have to go together, and months of experience tells us all that that isn't a good idea."

"Fine," Lavi whined. "Let's go then, Yu."

"Whatever," Kanda grumbled, hopping onto the black creature with his usual scowl.

Allen, relived he didn't have to be with Kanda during their trip, helped Lenalee onto the thestral and hopped on himself.

"They're supposed to have a good sense of direction," he said. Leaning across Lenalee's shoulder to pat the mane, he said to all three thestrals, "Please take us to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place."

- - - -

"Well, that certainly was quick," Sirius Black said as the six Exorcists stumbled into the dark house. "And quiet, too."

"We know how to stay silent, thanks," Lavi said to Harry Potter's godfather with a grin. "How are things?"

"Where's Komui?" Lenalee asked, cutting him off.

"He's in the drawing room," Remus Lupin answered with a yawn, pointing down the hall. "He wanted to talk to you about something."

Upon entering the drawing room, Allen, Lavi, and Krory gave shouts of surprise when Lenalee was suddenly enveloped in a mass of white. Kanda instinctively drew Mugen in defense, but the mass spoke.

"Kyaa, Kanda! Calm down! It's me, it's me!"

"Komui?" Allen and Lavi blanched as the scientist pried himself away from Lenalee and showed them his smiling face.

"Long time no see, everyone," Komui Lee greeted with a cheerful nod. "I have good news for you."

"What would that be?" Kanda asked.

"I found _it."_

A heavy silence followed those words.

And then, Miranda spoke up slowly, "You... you found it?"

Krory snapped out of his trance and exclaimed, "That is wonderful! Where was it?"

"It was in a hidden room at Hogwarts," Komui answered. "Dumbledore and I located it before we left, and he moved it into a secured place. I know where it is."

"When exactly did you find it?" Lenalee said, a confused look on her face.

"Didn't I say? Just a couple days before Dumbledore and I left Hogwarts-"

"You said on Halloween that you already knew where it was!" Kanda suddenly said angrily. "You lied, didn't you, you idiot-"

"So all this time you didn't know if we'd be able to go home, and yet you convinced us that we will?" Lavi cried.

"What would you have said if we couldn't go home after all?" Allen asked, calm despite the sudden outbursts of the older boys.

"Apologized?" Komui suggested in a small voice. Beside him, Lenalee let out a sigh.

"But that doesn't matter anymore, does it?" Miranda said with a smile. "He's found it, so there's really nothing to worry about."

"She is right," Krory nodded. "So it's wonderful news for all of us. Once we finish our job in this world, we will be able to go back home."

- - - -

Sirius sat on the floor and carefully bandaged Buckbeak the hippogriff's wound. He didn't know who'd done it, but it was rather a deep cut, and whoever did it would get a good yelling for it - and maybe a knock on the head. He'd spent a good twenty minutes cleaning the damp feathers, when his mother began screaming. Somebody had arrived, and they'd forgotten about his (deranged) mother's portrait again.

"Probably Tonks," Sirius muttered as he gave Buckbeak a pat on his head and left the room. "Somebody better shut up my good mother before-"

"-can't be in the Department of Mysteries... Sirius is here!"

"You believe this to be one of Voldemort's tricks? Harry-"

"Sirius!" Allen gasped from where he and Lavi were struggling with the portrait. At his voice, the newcomer and the four other Order members (they had probably been somewhere in the house until just now) who'd been whispering feverishly by the front door, fell silent. With a grunt, the two boys closed the drawings.

"Why the sudden silence?" Sirius asked curiously, glancing from Allen and Lavi, to the other Exorcists who were just coming out of the drawing room, to Lupin, to Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, Nymphadora Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and-

"_Snivellus," _Sirius said to the guest.

Severus Snape ignored him and, turning to the others, he said, "I suggest you all depart at once."

"Depart?" Sirius asked, stepping into the group. "To where? I know I heard Harry's name. What's this about the Department of Mysteries and Voldemort?"

"Mr. Potter believes that the Dark Lord has taken you captive and is torturing you in the Department of Mysteries," Snape answered curtly. "He and his friends should be headed there by now-"

"_Harry went to the Department of Mysteries?"_ Sirius exclaimed.

"We're going to go find him, and help," Lenalee Lee said, her young voice tight with determination. "So don't you worry, Sirius-"

"What do you mean, 'don't you worry'? I'm going with you!"

"You will not," Snape cut in. "We will need somebody to inform Professor Dumbledore of what is happening. He will be here at any moment-"

"Can't Komui-?"

"No, apart from needing somebody to inform Professor Dumbledore, there is also the fact that-"

"_I will be going no matter what!"_ Sirius growled, challenging Severus Snape to argue with him. "I _will _go, Snivellus, whether you want me to or not. Harry is my godson! Kreacher and Komui could inform Dumbledore! You can't stop me from going!"

Snape seemed to want to continue the fight, but Yu Kanda suddenly spoke up.

"I don't think we have much time to be spitting at each other over trivial things like that," he said coolly. "Unless, of course, you want Harry Potter to die. If so, feel free to continue your lovely arguing."

Both Sirius and Snape glared at each other before Snape said, "I will leave the rest to you," and stepped out of the house. After a moment of silence, Tonks broke the tension.

"Well, let's get going, why don't we, eh?" she said.

* * *

This chapter was rather short compared to my other chapters... I'm hoping I could make the next one a bit longer. 


	47. Battle at the Ministry

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Forty-seven: Battle at the Ministry

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

It became apparent to the Exorcists that their sole enemy was no longer in this dimension as they fought the Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries. There was no sign or shadow of the Millennium Earl or the Noah or Akuma, only the dark wizards who wove in and out of their sight with the intent to kill any that got in their way. 

For some reasons, these wizards broke Allen's heart more than the Akuma did.

"Death, destruction, sorrow, sadness, anger," Miranda whispered as she sent a well-aimed jinx at one of the Death Eaters. "These people.. they seek such things. Why must they be like so?"

"...It is greed, Miranda, greed and greed alone," Allen told her softly before he parted with her, the two of them jumping to avoid an oncoming curse.

"All right, Harry?" Lavi asked the black haired boy as he skidded to a half beside him and Neville Longbottom. "Still have your prophecy?"

"Yeah," Harry gasped. The three boys moved quickly, swerving to dodge a curse, and when Lavi spun around to ask where Ron and the others were, a thick arm flew past his ear and wrapped itself tightly around Harry's neck like a snake. The Death Eater lifted Harry off his feet, strangling him.

"Give it to me," he growled, "give me the prophecy--"

"Why you!" Lavi grunted, preparing to punch the man, but Neville beat him to it as he lunged at the Death Eater with a roar. He jabbed a wand into the mask's eyehole, and Harry, released at once, turned and Stupefied his attacker without a second's hesitation.

"Thanks!" he said to Neville as Sirius Black and his opponenet Death Eater flitted past, dueling fiercely.

"_Tarantallegra!" _yelled another Death Eater, pointing his wand at Neville as he stepped over Alastor Moody's unconscious body. The jinx immediately sent Neville's legs into a frenzied dance that resembled tap dancing, and Lavi was pushed away by the limbs as they threatened to kick him at any moment, and Harry yelled, "_Protego!" _just as the Death Eater came to attack again.

"_Accio Proph--"_

_"_Oh no you don't!'

Sirius returned, knocking the Death Eater away with his shoulder and dueling him now. Lavi made sure Harry still had his hold on the glass ball that was the cause of all this chaos, and he slipped away to find his comrades.

He met up with Lenalee and Kanda, who were dragging Moody's body to a safer corner, and the three of them leaped back into action just as they saw Harry throw a Body-Bind Charm at Sirius's Death Eater, and the boy be pushed to the ground by Sirius as a Killing Curse barely missed them. Nymphadora Tonks was falling down the steps, and Bellatrix Lestrange was rejoining the rest of the fight. Sirius got to his feet and began to duel with her, and Allen was now trying to help Harry and Neville from Lucius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy's father, who had appeared out of nowhere. Miranda and Krory had disappeared.

"_Impedimenta!_" Harry and Allen yelled together, knocking Malfoy away with full force. They both kept their eyes on the man, but just when he tried to come at them again, Remus Lupin intercepted.

"Harry, round up the other and GO!" Allen told Harry now, wiping blood from his cheek as it trickled form the cut he'd received from a wild jinx that scratched him. He got to his feet, looking around for the other Exorcists.

Harry nodded and seized Neville, whose legs were still failing around like crazy. Allen cursed himself for not knowing the counter-spell, but he forced himself to concentrate on the fight around him.

"Come on!" Harry gasped. "Just try and push with your legs--"

Just a moment after, there was an unidentifiable sound Allen thought might be the sound of something ripping, and a glass ball looking suspiciously like Harry's propecy zipped past him and smashed on the step right by his foot. A pearly white figure rose from the broken pieces, a woman with glasses that magnified her eyes tenfold, rose like mist. Over the din of the battle, Allen could only make out a few words at the end of the prophecy...

"_And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The ne with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."_

"What...?" Allen muttered as Sibyll Trelawney disappeared. "What is she... talking about?"

"Harry, I'b sorry!" Neville cried. "I'b so sorry, Harry, I didn'd bean do--"

"It doesn't matter!" Harry yelled. "Just try and stand, let's get out of-"

_"Dubbledore!"_

"What?"

"DUBBLEDORE!"

Allen spun on his heels, recognizing the name Neville was trying to say through his broken nose. And indeed, Albus Dumbledore stood there, above them, white faced and furious, his wand raised, as Komui Lee leaped out from behind him and gave Allen a relieved and assuring smile.

Allen watched as the great wizard hurried past him, rounding up the Death Eaters swiftly and calmly. Only two were still fighting, and Sirius laughed as he ducked Bellatrix Lestrange's jet of red light.

"Come on, you can do better than that!" he taunted.

And she did do better as the second light - a bright green light - struck Sirius square on the chest.

Allen felt the blood drain from his being, watching as he laughter on the man's chest slipped off slowly, as his eyes widened in shock, and he stumbled back.

Sirius Black stumbled and fell. Down... down... slowly, as if time was struggling to go on, to finish this terrible scene... the man fell through the etheral looking veil the middle of the room, and all was watching.

"Oh, dear Lord," Allen whispered softly. "No..."

And Harry was screaming. Screaming... screaming.

"SIRIUS!" the boy's voice rang, loud as a gunshot, sharp as a knife, heartbreaking and heartbroken. "SIRIUS!"

Harry made to reach for the veil, stumbling as he ran toward the dais. He was stopped by Lupin, who caught him around the chest, and Allen, who grabbed his hand.

"Get him, save him, he's only just gone through!" Harry was yelling.

"It's too late, Harry--" Lupin struggled.

"We can still reach him--"

Allen shook his head and placed a hand on the black haired boy's shoulder. He hadn't known Sirius as well as Harry, hadn't known him long. But even he couldn't deny the small tingling in his heart as he said sadly to Harry, delivering to him the most tragic news. He knew this pain, the pain of losing a loved one... a father.

"There's nothing you can do, Harry... nothing.. He's gone," he said, hating his own words.

But Harry was determined to disagree. "He isn't gone!" he spat. He resumed to fight Lupin's hold. "SIRIUS! SIRIUS!"

"He can't come back, Harry," Lupin grunted in a cracking voice. "He can't come back, because he's d--"

"HE - IS - NOT - DEAD! SIRIUS!"

The fight was still going on around them, but it seemed as if Harry and the two around him were trapped in a bubble where sound couldn't reach. Isolated, separated, part of another dimension, where nothing else mattered but the deep desire that Sirius Black was not dead. But Allen knew, more than anything, that it as best for Harry to acknowledge the truth of his godfather's death, lest he be overcome by a despair deeper than anything else. He knew. He had been to those depths before.

"Harry," he said. "You have to stop this. You _know. _I know you do. Sirius won't be coming back, he can't. He's really gone."

He expected Harry to argue again, but it seemed the boy was drained of all fight now. He was staring at the dais blankly, the thin trace of hope glinting feebly in his eye, but even that will die soon...

"Harry?" Neville said, tumbling down toward them. His face was still covered in blood from when his nose had been broken. "Harry... I'b really sorry... Was dat man - was Sirius Black a - a friend of yours?"

Harry nodded silently.

"Here. _Finite," _Lupin said, waving his wand at Neville's wild legs, and Neville's feet found stable ground once again. "Let's - let's find the others. Where are they all, Neville?"

"Dey're all back dere," Neville answered. "A brain addacked Ron bud I dink he's all righd - and Herbione's unconscious, bud we could feel a pulse--"

"_Aaaaaaarrrggh!"_

All four of them snapped their heads up at the yell of pain, and they saw Kingsley Shacklebolt, who had jumped in to duel Bellatrix Lestrange in Sirius's place, falling to the ground. Lestrange, spun on her heels and darted past Dumbledore, who aimed a spell to catch her. She deflected it and was halfway up the steps leading to the door-

"Harry - no!" Lupin gasped, and Allen was momentarily dumbfounded as Harry flitted after Lestrange.

"SHE KILLED SIRIUS!" Harry yelled over his shoulder. "SHE KILLED HIM - I'LL KILL HER!"

"Oh no!" Allen waved a hand at Lupin and Neville as he ran after Harry. God knew what humans would do in a state of anger such as that. He couldn't let Harry hurt himself.

_Why not? He's angry. You would have done the same if it was Mana that was just killed._

The truth, spoken by his own mind, stung Allen's heart. It was true. If Sirius had been his godfather... Allen didn't know what he would have done. He would have wanted to avenge him, most likely. Get revenge by killing the one who killed him.

But Harry... Harry was too kind. If he acted out of his sorrow, anger, and hatred, without thinking, he would do something that he would regret for the rest of his life...

_I can't let that happen._

"Harry! Wait!" he yelled as the angry boy raced into the lift after Lestrange.

They arrived in the Atrium of the Ministry.

There was a loud din the moment Allen stepped out of the lift. A curse Lestrange fired at Harry had missed and hit the wrought gold gates at the end of the Atrium, causing a loud bell like noise to ring throughout the area. Harry was crouched behind the statues of a great fountain in the middle of the room, and Lestrange was staring in his general direction, a smirk on her face. Neither noticed Allen.

"_Come out, come out, little Harry!" _Lestrange said in a sing-song voice. "What did you come after me for, then? I thought you were here to avenge my dear cousin!"

"I am!" Harry yelled, and his voice echoed eerily around them.

"Aaaaaaah... did you _love _him, little baby Potter?" Lestrange cooed.

Allen knew what would happen even before it did. As Harry flung himself out of behind the statues and raised his wand, he yelled, "No! Harry, don't!" but it was oo late.

"_Crucio_!" Harry said loudly, and Lestrange screamed, falling backward onto the ground. However, she did not writhe in pain, and by the time Allen had run up to shield Harry from further attacks, she was back on her feet, all laughter gone from her face as she breathed roughly. She raised her wand.

"Look out!" Allen instinctively pushed Harry behind the fountain once again as the witch's counterspell hit the head of a statue of a wizard. The head flew off and landed several deet away, scratching deep marks onto the wooden floor. Allen ducked down with Harry as Lestrange began to speak again.

"Never used an Unforgivable Curse before, have you, boy?" she cackled. "You need to _mean _them, Potter! You need to really want to cause pain - to enjoy it - righteous anger won't hurt me for long - I'll show you how it is done, shall I? I'll give you a lesson- _Crucio_!"

Allen and Harry, who'd been edging around the fountain on the other side, ducked again as a centaur's stone arm was blasted off from the statue.

"Potter, you cannot win against me!" Lestrange cried. She and Allen and Harry were circling the fountain now, away from each other, and, at the same time, toward each other. "I was and am the Dark Lord's most loyal servant, I learned the Dark Arts from him, and I know spells of such power that you, pathetic little boy, and your friend can never hope to compete-"

_"Stupefy_!" Allen said sharply, sending the spell at Lestrange. He ducked down immediately, however, as she reacted so quickly that he barely had any warning

"_Protego_!"

Allen's Stunning Spell bounced back and hit a goblin's ear, knocking that off as well. It seemed that Death Eaters weren't satisfied unless they caused at least some kind of damage with each spell they cast.

"Potter, I am going to give you and your friend once chance!" Lestrange shouted at them. "Give me the prophecy - roll it out toward me now - and I may spare your life!"

Allen gritted his teeth and felt Harry shift beside him. The black haired boy replied back to Lestrange's threat. "Well, you're going to have to kill me, because it's gone!" he yelled, and Allen saw that his face was scrunched up in pain. "And he knows! Your dear old mate Voldemort knows it's gone! He's not going to be happy with you, is it?"

"What? What do you mean?" Lestrange's voice, for the first time tonight, sounded frightened.

"The prophecy smashed," Allen told her calmly. "It smashed when Harry was trying to get Neville up the steps. What do you think, Lestrange, Voldemort will say about that, then?" Next to him, Harry had tears falling from his eyes, and Allen put a hand on the boy's shoulder to steady him.

Allen knew, from the way Harry was acting, that they didn't have much time.

_Voldemort was coming..._

* * *

I feel really bad about takind thirty-one days to update this story. Seriously, something must have been wrong with my rain. Apart from going on the school trip, there must have been soemthing that completely blew one month out of my system. But now, I have updated, and I feel much better.

Sorry to everyone for the major delay!


	48. And The Battle Comes To An End

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Forty-eight: And The Battle Comes To An End

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

**Recap:**

Allen gritted his teeth and felt Harry shift beside him. The black haired boy replied back to Lestrange's threat. "Well, you're going to have to kill me, because it's gone!" he yelled, and Allen saw that his face was scrunched up in pain. "And he knows! Your dear old mate Voldemort knows it's gone! He's not going to be happy with you, is it?"

"What? What do you mean?" Lestrange's voice, for the first time tonight, sounded frightened.

"The prophecy smashed," Allen told her calmly. "It smashed when Harry was trying to get Neville up the steps. What do you think, Lestrange, Voldemort will say about that, then?" Next to him, Harry had tears falling from his eyes, and Allen put a hand on the boy's shoulder to steady him.

Allen knew, from the way Harry was acting, that they didn't have much time.

_Voldemort was coming..._

* * *

"LIAR!" Lestrange screamed hysterically. Terror rang in her voice, a sound, a tone that Allen had heard so many times. "YOU'VE GOT IT, POTTER, AND YOU WILL GIVE IT TO ME! _Accio Prophecy! ACCIO PROPHECY!"_

Harry laughed loudly, his face still scrunched up in pain, and Allen feared that the boy might have lost his mind. Harry waved his hand from behind the statue of the goblin, drawing it back quickly as Lestrange threw another curse at him. "Nothing there! Nothing to summon! It smashed and nobody heard what it said, tell your boss that--"

"No!" Lestrange gave a cry of despair. "It isn't true, you're lying - MASTER, I TREID, I TRIED - DO NO PUNISH ME--"

"Don't waste your breathe!" Harry yelled back at her. "He can't hear you from here!"

But a feeling similar to that of ice cold water being dumped over his shoulders attacked Allen at the moment, and he spun around, raising his wand as the feeling of pure malice gathered in the middle of the hall--

"Can't I, Potter?" Lord Voldemort asked coldly, his wand pointed at the two boys behind the statues.

"...Quite a late arrival," Allen commented softly.

"You smashed my prophecy?" Voldemort said, ignoring the Exorcist. "No, Bella, he is not lying... I see the truth looking at me from within his worthless mind... Months of preparation, months of effort... and my Death Eaters have let Harry Potter thwart me again..."

"Master, I am sorry, I knew not, I was fighting the Animagus Black!" Lestrange cried through her desperate sobs. "Master, you should know--"

"Be quiet, Bella," Voldemort said softly with menace hanging from his every syllable. "I shall deal with you in a moment. Do you think I have entered the Ministry of Magic to hear your sniveling apologies?"

"But Master - he is here - he is below--"

But Voldemort did not look at his servant as he turned to Harry. Allen stepped between the boy and the wizard protectively.

"I have nothing to say to you, Potter, or your friend here," Voldemort said. "You have irked me too often, for too long. _AVADA KEDAVRA!"_

Allen activated his Innocence and raised it as a shield in front of himself and Harry, but somehow... he knew that even his arm would not save him from death caused by a wizard's curse...

But the spell never hit, as the broken wizard's statue of the fountain leaped to its feet and jumped in front of the curse, effectively shielding both boys from it.

"What-?" Voldemort gasped. He looked around widely, and his snake-like eyes landed on something that brought malice to them stronger than anything before had. "Dumbledore!"

"Sir!" Allen gasped, lowering his arm and gaping at the magnificent man standing at the gates. But he had no time to say much else as Voldemort sent another curse after Dumbledore, who turned and was gone in a whirl of his cloak, who reappeared behind Voldemort and with a sweep of his wand brought all the other statues to life. The headless wizard nudged Allen none-too-gently, and the Exorcist took the signal: grabbing Harry by the arm, he backed away from the fight and knelt there, pulling Harry with him. The centaur's statue galloped around Voldemort and Dumbledore.

"It was foolish to come here tonight, Tom," Dumbledore spoke calmly. "The Aurors are on their way--"

"By which time I will be gone and you dead!" Voldemort spat out as he sent a Killing Curse at Dumbledore, missed, and hit the secutiry guard's desk, which burst into flames. Dumbledore retaliated by flicking his wand sending a spell at his opponent. The force of the spell made Allen's hair stand on end, it being so powerful. Voldemort conjured a silver shield out of thin air, and as the spell hit, it sounded like the eerie echo of a gong.

"You do not seek to kill me, Dumbledore!" Voldemort cried. "Above such brutality, are you?"

"We both know that there are other ways of destroying a man, Tom," Dumbledore stated, approaching Voldemort calmly, as if there was nothing he feared about him or anything else in the world. "Merely taking your life would not satisfy me, I must admit--"

"There is nothing worse than death, Dumbledore!"

"You are quite wrong," Dumbledore replied. Allen felt Harry struggling against him and their headless protector, but he made sure the boy did not move. "Indeed, your failure to understand that there are things much worse than death has always been your greatest weakness--"

Another Killing Curse hurdled through the air, hitting the galloping centaur as it protected Dumbledore, shattering into pieces. Dumbleore threw a thread of flames at Voldemort, wrapping him in it, and then the flames turned into a giant snake, which hissed at Voldemort, ready to strike--

A burst of flames in midair was all Allen noticed before Voldemort, who'd vanished in the blink of an eye, reappeared on the now empty fountain, aiming a curse at Dumbledore once again--

"_Look out!" _Harry yelled as the jet of green light shot toward the silver haired man and the snake struck--

And Fawkes the phoenix swooped down and swallowed the curse whole, and Dumbledore brandished his wand, and the snake disappeared in a burst of black smoke.

Allen watched as th fountain's water made a large coccoon around Voldemort, who stood there as a rippling image for a few moments...

And then Allen blinked

and Voldemort

was

gone.

Lestrange's scream penetrated the air from where she was pinned down by the witch's statue, which Allen hadn't noticed until now. The Death Eater was sobbing uncontrollably, and the sight of it made Allen want to feel sick. Such devotion to such a cruel man. It only reminded him of the Millennium Earl and the Akuma.

_We have to go back to where we came from, _he thought sadly. _Or else... the Earl would destroy the world..._

And Harry and the others wouldn't have their chance to live.

Harry jerked beside him and made to dash out from where he was, but Dumbledore, looking frightened and alert, yelled loudly, "Stay where you are, Harry!"

Allen turned to look at Harry, to make sure he would stay, but then he realized he had no need to: Harry suddenly fell to the floor, twitching and writhing, and Allen knew that this was because of the lightning shaped scar on Harry's forehead. Allen reached for him, shocked, but all he received was a violent hand swatting him away with unreal strength, Harry's fingernails scratching his exposed skin (his gloves had been gone sometime during the chaos) and drawing blood...

Harry looked up weakly and opened his mouth.

"_Kill me now, Dumbledore..."_ he croaked out. Allen could only stare. "_If death is nothing, Dumbledore, kill the boy..."_

Allen clenched his fists. "Harry! Harry, you must wake up!" he snapped, putting his arms around the boy. "Fight him, Harry! Don't lose to Voldemort! Harry!"

And then Dumbledore was there, and so were other people, when Allen finally released his hold on Harry. Dumbledore lay him down on the floor, and Allen went to retrieve Harry's glasses, when Dumbledore spoke gently.

"Are you all right, Harry?"

"Yes," replied Harry's slurred voice. "Yeah, I'm - where's Voldemort, where - who are all these - what's--"

"He was here!" shouted a man in a scarlet robe, one of the crowd who had appeared while Allen was clinging to Harry. "I saw him, Mr. Fudge, I swear, it was You-Know-Who, he grabbed a woman and Disapparated!"

"I know, Williamson, I know, I saw him too!" gasped a familiar man, Cornelius Fudge. "Merlin's beard - here - _here! - _in the Ministry of Magic! - great heavens above - it doesn't seem possible - my word - how can this be?"

"If you proceed downstairs into the Department of Mysteries, Cornelius," Dumbledore said as he approached the crowd, which had a dozen different reactions toward the wizard's appearance, and Allen shuffled back to Harry with the boy's glasses, "you will find several escaped Death Eaters contained in the Death Chamber, bound by an Anti-Disapparation Jinx and awaiting your decision as to what to do with them."

"Dumbledore!" Fudge yelped. "You - here - I - I - Seize him!"

"Cornelius, I am ready to fight your men - and win again!" Dumbledore boomed. "But a few minutes ago you saw a proof, with your very own eyes, that I have been telling you the truth for a year, Lord Voldemort has returned, you have been chasing the wrong men for twelve months, and it is time you listened to sense!"

"I - don't - well - Very well!" Fudge sputtered. "Dawlish! Williamson! Go down to the Department of Mysteries and see... Dumbledore, you - you will need to tell me exactly - the Fountain of Magical Brethren - what happened?"

"We can discuss that after I have sent Harry and Mr. Walker back to Hogwarts," Dumbledore said as Allen and Harry watched silently.

"Harry - _Harry Potter?"_

_This man needs a break, _Allen though pitifully.

"He- here?" Fudge demanded. "Why - what's all this about?"

"I shall explain everything when the boys are back at school," Dumbledore repeated, and he raised his wand at the wizard's statue's abandoned head. "_Portus." _

"Now see here, Dumbledore!" Fudge snapped as Dumbledore handed the Portkey to Allen, who made Harry grasp it as well. "You haven't got authorization for that Portkey! You can't do things like that right in front of the Minister of Magic - you - you--"

"You will give the order to remove Dolores Umbridge from Hogwarts," Dumbledore dealt calmly. "You will tell your Aurors to stop searching for my Care of Magical Creatures so he can return to work. I shall give you... half an hour of my time tonight, in which I think we shall be more than able to cover the important points of what has happened here. After that, I shall need to return to my school. If you need more help from me you are, of course, more than welcome to contact me at Hogwarts. Letters addressed to the headmaster will find me."

"I - you--"

"I shall see you in half an hour," Dumbledore said to Allen and Harry, the latter of which merely stared ahead blankly. Worried, Allen reached out his free hand and gripped his friend's shoulder.

"One... two... three..."

Allen closed his eyes as the floor left his feet, and as his stomach was jerked up, down, left, right, and as the Ministry of Magic disappeared.

_I'll have to talk to everyone later.. I hope they're all right, I'll see them...soon enough._

Or so he thought.

* * *

You'd think I can write a chapter faster than this, but nope. I'm slowing down drastically now, and I've once again given up on the other story. I feel so ashamed. I'm going to finish this up before I write anything else.


	49. Farewell, Harry Potter

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Forty-nine: Farewell, Harry Potter

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

**Recap**

"I shall see you in half an hour," Dumbledore said to Allen and Harry, the latter of which merely stared ahead blankly. Worried, Allen reached out his free hand and gripped his friend's shoulder.

"One... two... three..."

Allen closed his eyes as the floor left his feet, and as his stomach was jerked up, down, left, right, and as the Ministry of Magic disappeared.

_I'll have to talk to everyone later.. I hope they're all right, I'll see them...soon enough._

Or so he thought.

* * *

"Ah... Harry Potter."

The portrait of Hogwart's least popula headmaster eyed the boy out of narrowed eyes when he awoke from his slumber. Allen was standing in the middle of the room, watching as Harry walked around the quiet office, breathing in and out sharply, eyes staring straight ahead

"And what brings you here in the early hours of morning?" Phineas Nigellus asked smoothly, gesturing out the window to the slowly rising sun. "This office is supposed to be boarded up to all but the rightful headmaster. Or has Dumbledore sent you heere?" Oh, don't tell me..." Allen glanced his way as he gave a yawn. "Another message for my worthless great-great-grandson?"

Harry had frozen in his steps while Phineas Nigellus spoke, but as a few more portraits of past headmasters and headmistresses started to stir, the boy turned on his heels to walk up to the oak doors. He tugged on the doorknob, but it would not budge.

"I hope this means," said a red-nosed wizard from behind Dumbledore's desk, "that Dumbledore will soon be back with us?" At Harry's nod, he continued, "Oh good. It has been very dull without him, very dull indeed."

As he sat back on his painted chair, the headmaster smiled kindly at Harry. "Dumbledore thinks very highly of you, as I am sure you know. Oh yes. Holds you in great esteem," he said, and Allen felt that he was the only one in the room who understood how Harry felt, the only one who could see the trembling of the boy's shoulders.

The only one who understood the pain of losing someone and feeling guilty of being the cause.

A slight twisting feeling in his stomach and chest made Allen clutch the front of his coat.

_Mana, _he thought forlornly.

Suddenly, Dumbledore's fireplace exploded in flames, and a tall, silver haired wizard spun around inside it before stepping out gracefully. Albus Dumbledore's return awakened the other, still-sleeping heads, and some of them gave him cries of welcome, although Allen and Harry could only stare in silence.

"Thank you," Dumbledore said softly before he walked past the boys and placed his phoenix, Fawkes, ugly and tiny and featherless, onto the ashtray on which the grown, large, and red Fawkes usually stood. Then, he turned away from it to speak.

"Well, Harry, you will be pleased to hear that none of your fellow students are going to suffer lasting damage from the night's events," he said serenly. Harry remained silent, as did Allen, who felt it was not in his place to speak unless spoken to. "Madam Pomfrey is patching everybody up now," Dumbledore continued. "Nymphadora Tonks may need to spend a little time in St. Mungo's, but it seems that she will make a full recovery. Oh, and--"

As Harry nodded at the carpet, Dumbledore approached Allen and handed him a piece of parchment. "Your friend, Miranda Lotto, asked for me to give this to you."

"Miranda?" Allen said, opening up the note. He read it, his heartbeat increasing with every word he absorbed.

_Allen,_

_We've managed to fix it now. Komui tells me we will be leaving at dawn, and suggests you explain our situation and say your good-byes to Harry and the others. This device here that I sent with the note. Hold onto it, it's connected to our transport.  
_

_I'll see you soon,  
Miranda_

_P.S. Komui tells me that Harry's godfather died in the fight today. Please give him our regards. Also, you need not worry about the Millennium Earl approaching him about Akuma. He has gone back, and he, the Noah, and the Akuma, none of them ever existed in this dimension.  
_

"I know how you are feeling, Harry," Dumbledore said, pulling Allen's mind away from Miranda's words.

"No you don't," Harry said, his voice becoming stronger with every syllable.

Phineas Nigellus sneered at him. "You see, Dumbledore? Never try to understand the students. They hate it. They would rather be tragically misunderstood, wallow in self-pity, stew in their own--"

"That's enough, Phineas," Dumbledore cut in. He watched Harry, who had now turned his back to him and was determinedly staring out the window.

"There is no shame in what you are feeling, Harry," he said sofly. "On the contrary... the fact that you can feel pain like this is your greatest strength."

"...My greatest strength," Harry said lowly, "is it? You haven't got a clue... You don't know..."

"What don't I know?"

Harry spun on his heels, facing Dumbledore with anger so strong Allen was taken aback. "I don't want to talk about how I feel, all right?" he demanded.

"Harry, suffering like this proves you are still a man! This pain is part of being human--"

"THEN - I - DON'T - WANT - TO - BE - HUMAN!"

Harry's roar exploded through the office like Lavi's Hiban. He seized one of the silver instruments off of Dumbledore's table and threw it. It shattered to pieces against the wall behind Allen, who was frozen stiff, feet glued to the floor.

One of the previous headmasters snapped, "_Really!"_

"I DON'T CARE!" Harry yelled at him, throwing another instrument into the blazing fireplace. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH, I'VE SEEN ENOUGH, I WANT OUT, I WANT IT TO END, I DON'T CARE ANYMORE--"

A table crashed to the floor and broke apart, one of the pieces tumbling and hitting Allen's boot.

"You do care," Dumbledore said to Harry, watching serenely as the boy vandalized his belongings. "You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it."

"I - DON'T!" Harry yelled, and he twitched, as if he might just start running at Dumbledore now, break that old man, anything. Allen stayed where he was.

"Oh yes, you do," Dumbledore pressed. "You have now lost your mother, your father, and the closest thing to a parent you have ever known. Of course you care."

"YOU DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL! YOU - STANDING THERE - YOU--"

But Harry seemed to be at a loss for words now as his green eyes, bright with malice, darkened into hopelessness, as his shoulders slumped, and an air of defeat overtook him. He turned to the oak door behind him and tried to open the door that wouldn't open, tried the knob that wouldn't turn. He spun around to face Dumbledore again.

"Let me out," he said flatly.

"No," Dumbledore said, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips.

Allen felt he could cut the tension with his hand as Harry and Dumbledore stared at each other.

"Let me out," Harry repeated.

"No," Dumbledore replied.

"If you don't - if you keep me in here -if you don't let me--"

"By all means, continue destroying my possessions," Dumbledore welcomed. "I daresay I have too many."

"Let me out," Harry said for the third time as Dumbledore sat down calmly behind his desk.

"Not until I have had my say," the headmaster said.

"Do you-" Harry stuttered, his voice rising again. "Do you think I want to - do you think I give a - I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU'VE GOT TO SAY! I don' want to hear _anything _you've got to say!"

"You will. Because you are not nearly as angry with me as you ought to be. If you are to attack me, as I know you are close to doing, I would like to have thoroughly earned it."

Allen couldn't help himself. "What are you talking--?" he said, but he wasn't the only one who spoke, and both of them were cut off mid-sentence.

"It is _my _fault that Sirius died," Dumbledore stated. "Or should I say almost entirely my fault - I will not be so arrogant as to claim responsibility for the whole. Sirius was a brave, clever, and energetic man, and such men are not usually content to sit at home n hiding while they believe others to be in danger. Nevertheless, you should never have believed for an instant that there was any necessity for you to go to the Department of Mysteries tonight. If I had been open with you, Harry, as I should have been, you would have known a long time ago that Voldemort might try and lure you to the Department of Mysteries, and you would never have been tricked into going there tonight. And Sirius would not have had to come after you. That blame lies with me, and with me alone."

Allen watched as Harry stared at Dumbldore. All them were silent for a while.

"Please sit down," Dumbledore requested, and for some reason, Allen knew he was speaking to both Harry and himself.

Although Allen approached a chair without hesitation, Harry faltered a moment, then gingerly sat himself down next to Allen, facing Dumbledore.

"Am I to understand," said a shaky voice, and Phineas Nigellus appeared paler than usual as he shook in his painting, "that my great-great-grandson - the last of the Blacks - is dead?"

"Yes, Phineas," Dumbledore told him forlornly.

"I don't believe it."

Without looking, Allen knew that the headmaster had disappeared from his canvas, perhaps visiting the house where Sirius Black used to live, calling as he stepped through every portrait in that house, calling for the man that would never answer to anyone.

"Harry, I owe you an explanation," Dumbledore began. "An explanation of an old man's mistakes. For I see now that what I have done, and not done, with regard to you, bears all the hallmarks of the failings of age. Youth cannot know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young... and I seem to have forgotten lately..."

The soft warmth on the top of his head told Allen that dawn had arrived, but as he fiddled, folded, and crumpled Miranda's note in his hands, he kept his eyes on the hands in his lap, feeling like an intruder as he listened to Dumbledore, feeling as if he did not belong... and he didn't belong here, he knew.

_Not anymore.._

He could feel the device in his hand vibrate, give a pulse, and he could feel something changing in him. An invisible hand slowly wrapped around his being, tight enough to make him feel its presense, but not so tight that it crushed him. He noticed that his body was slowly becoming more and more transparent with every moment passed as he stared at it, and he knew that Dumbledore and Harry were watching him as he disappeared from the office--

From the world--

From this dimension--

Forever, out of their lives.

"Allen?" Harry's confused voice said, and the Exorcist looked up, seeing the black-haired boy reaching out to touch him, but keeping a distance between his fingertips and Allen's arm, as if afraid.

Allen let a smile reach his lips as he bit back the telltale tears in his eyes.

"I guess this is it," he said, "this is good-bye, Harry."

"No," Harry whispered. "You can't be leaving, you can't--"

"I never belonged here with you," Allen said as he grasped one of his coat buttons, ripping it away from the fabric and handing it to Harry. As it landed in the other boy's hands, the silver regained its opaqueness. "But keep this, and at least I'll feel as if I accomplished something here."

"What are you talking about--?"

"Just listen," Allen sighed. "Listen to Dumbledore, hear him out, because you need to know this. Harry, you would never remember me once I disappear, I would never have existed in your memories because I am not supposed to have been in this dimension." He could barely see his hand now, and he was speaking quickly. "Continue living, Harry, keep moving forward, and someday... all of this would end."

"I--"

"Trust Dumbledore," Allen pressed, and from how his voice seemed to echo, he only had time for a few more words. He wanted to say so much more, but his mind could not settle on just one. Finally, just as he thought he himself would disappear, the office was gulped up by darkness - or was he gulped in? - and he only managed to say, "Good-bye, Harry Potter."

* * *

One more chapter to go, but I must tell you... it will be quite short. And after this, most likely there will be a sequel, but don't get your hopes up high for a fast update. I am not a procrastinator just for show.


	50. And the Cycle Continues

Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists

Fifity: And the Cycle Continues...

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, and that also does not belong to me!

* * *

**Recap:**

"Trust Dumbledore," Allen pressed, and from how his voice seemed to echo, he only had time for a few more words. He wanted to say so much more, but his mind could not settle on just one. Finally, just as he thought he himself would disappear, the office was gulped up by darkness - or was he gulped in? - and he only managed to say, "Good-bye, Harry Potter."

* * *

"There you are, Harry, I knew they'd drag you into it somehow," Hermione Granger said chipperly, looking over at Harry from her copy of the _Sunday Prophet._

Harry grinned at her from the end of Ron's bed. They were in the hospital wing, listening to Hermione read the front page of the paper. He, Ginny, Neville, and Luna Lovegood were visiting their bedridden comrades .

Allen and the other Exorcists had all but disappeared off the face of Earth. When the white haired boy had vanished from Dumbledore's office, Harry had promptly demanded answers from Dumbledore about his whereabouts, but what he had received was a blank stare.

"He's 'the Boy Who Lived' again now, isn't he?" Ron asked, helping himself to a Chocolate Frog. "Not such a show-off maniac anymore, eh? Although I'd say he's lost it somewhat over the past few hours... something about an earl and a white haired kid."

"Oh, he asked you too?" Ginny piped up from Hermione's bed. "He asked me too. I've never heard of a Lenalee Lee who looks like Cho Chang, but Harry insisted she and I used to hang out together all the time--"

Harry tuned out the others as they went into a rather in-depth discussion about his sanity. He did not understand why nobody remembered the people from the Black Order, why he was the only one who had any recollection whatsoever about the Exorcists. Fingering the silver button he received from Allen, Harry wondered if that had anything to do with it.

- - - -

_Where... am I?_

_Such a familiar place, flashes of color, time passing me by, chaotic noises._

Allen Walker let himself relax as he felt himself passing through the flow of time. He vaguely wondered where Lavi and the others went, if they had already reached Home before him.

_I'll be seeing them all again. _

His eyes drifted shut, and exhaustion took over him. He'll soon be able to see everyone from the Order again, eat Jeryy's delicious food, and then sleep in his room. He would be home.

With his family.

Back in his world.

And he would return to the war agains teh Millennium Earl.

His thoughts suddently drifted to the peaceful days spent with Harry Potter and his friends. He knew he would miss them.

But he would someday bring such days to his world, too.

_Mana, I will keep moving on, no matter what, to see that peace engraved into our world..._

Allen felt himself twist in the void of time, and knew that his body had found its destination. He tilted, accelerated, and everything went black, he couldn't see anything even if he opened his eyes--

He landed with a crash, and voices erupted all around him.

"Bloody hell!"

"What was that--?"

"It's a kid."

"Where did he come from?"

"Is he..._dead?"_

Allen groaned and opened his eyes. He could feel the ground beneath him rattling rhythmically, like a train. He wondered why it was doing so, and raised his face slowly.

Four faces stared at him blankly. Four boys. Eerily familiar faces.

"Hey, mate, you all right?" the boy closest to him asked, and when Allen turned to look at him, he nearly screamed.

The boy who was holding out his hand had a mess of jet black hair. His glasses hung on his nose, and his impish smile was something Allen had gotten so used to seeing. But something was off, like the color of his eyes, the strangely bare forehead.

But Allen still couldn't believe it, and as he took the hand, he said, half afraid, half excited. "Harry... is that you?"

The boy blinked, and then laughed. "Harry? Who's that?" he asked cheerfully, helping Allen into the seat next to him. "I haven't seen you before, where'd you come from?"

"I--" Allen stuttered. If this wasn't Harry, then who was he?

"Before that, tell us this: What's your name?" said the boy sitting across from him. His dark hair hung down gracefully around his handsome face. Allen felt another chill of nostalgia run down his spine.

"Allen," he said uncertainly. "Allen Walker."

"Nice name," the first boy said. "That over there is Sirius," he added, pointing to his friend. As Allen froze in shock, he pointed to the other two in the compartment with them. "Over there, Remus and Peter. And me..."

Allen turned to face the boy stiffly, watching as the boyish face broke out in another familiar grin

"I'm James. James Potter."

* * *

And this marks the end of _Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists. _

Yes, there will be a sequel, yes, it will have to do with Allen now being stuck in Harry's dad's time. Please look forward to it, but keep in mind that it wil not be any quick update.

Thank you to all of you who have stuck by this immensly long story, which took me nearly two years to complete. I hope you all enjoyed the interaction between the Exorcists and the wizards and witches, and I hope you were able to enjoy my version of what would have happened if the Black Order got mixed up with the Order of the Phoenix.

Apologies to fans of Exorcists other than Allen, Lavi, and Lenalee, for not giving them much show time. Hopefully they'll appear more in any other stories I may or may not write.

Ciao for now, readers, and thank you so much for reading!

Sincerely,  
Yuzuki-sama969


End file.
